1; 


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LIBRARY 

OF.  THE 

University  of  California. 

GII^'T  OK 

Mrs.  SARAH  P.  WALSWORTH. 

Received  October,  1894,  . 
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http://www.archive.org/details/afflictedmanscomOOwillrich 


THE 


AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION 


THE  MOIJENER. 


THE 


AFFLICTED    MAN'S 


COMPANION; 


A  DIRECTORY  FOR  PERSONS  AND  FAMILIES 


FFLICTEliinlnTirElCKNESS 


ANY  OTHER  DISTRESS. 


BY   THE    EEV.   JOHN   WILLISON, 

DUNDEE,    SCOTLAND,    172  7. 


EVISED    EDITION, 


;tjfi7Besitt; 


PUBLISHED    BY   THE 
AMERICAN    TRACT    SOCIETY 

150  NASSAU-STREET,  NEW  YORK. 


In  this  edition,  a  .considerable  part  of  the  address  to  the 
reader  and  a  few  lines  in  the  body  of  the  work,  having  mainly 
a  local  application,  have  been  dropped,  and  a  number  of  words 
and  phrases  used  by  the  worthy  author,  which  have  become 
somewhat  obsolete  since  the  period  at  which  he  wrote,  have 
been  changed  for  others  more  generally  understood  at  the  pres- 
ent time. 


CONTENTS. 


Introduction, ....     25 

CHAPTER   I. 

GENERAL  DIRECTIONS  TO  ALL  FAMILIES  AND   PERSONS 
VISITED  WITH  SICKNESS. 

1.  Diligently  inquire  into  the  ends  and  designs  for  which  God  usually  sends 
sickness  and  affliction  upon  men, 27 

2.  Let  all  who  are  visited  with  sickness  or  distress,  search  for  the  Achan  in 
the  camp,  and  inquire  diligently  what  is  the  ground  and  cause  of  Grod's 
controversy  with  them, 32 

3.  When  any  fit  of  sickness  attacks  you,  think  seriously  upon  death,  and  make 
diligent  preparations  for  it, 36 

4.  Be  not  anxious  for  recovery  to  health,  but  leave  the  issue  of  your  present 
sickness  to  the  will  and  pleasure  of  the  infinitely  wise  Grod, 40 

5.  Bind  yourself  with  holy  purposes  and  resolutions,  in  Christ's  strength,  to  be 
more  watchful  against  sin,  more  diligent  in  duty,  and  to  improve  the  time 
of  healtii  better,  if  God  shall  be  pleased  to  restore  it  again  to  you,  •  •  •     42 

C.  Set  your  house  in  order  by  making  your  will  and  settling  your  domestic  and 
secular  affairs,  while  you  have  freedom  and  capacity  for  doing  it,-  •  •  •     43 


CHAPTER   II. 

PARTICFLAR  DIRECTIONS  TO  THOSE  WHO  ARE  SHARPLY 
AFFLICTED  WITH  SICKNESS  OR  LONG  TROUBLE. 

1.  Justify  God  in  the  greatest  afflictions  which  befall  you, 47 

2.  Labor  to  be  sensible  of  God's  hand  under  heavy  affliction,  and  beware  of 
stupidity  and  unconcern  under  it,  ■  •    50 

3.  Beware  of  misconstruing  God's  dealings  towards  you,  and  of  charging  him 

foolishly, 52 

4.  Under  sore  trouble   and   distress,  labor  to   exercise  a  strong  and  lively 
faith, 53 

5.  Labor  to  bear  with  patience  whatever  load  of  trouble  the  Lord  appoints  for 
you, 56 

6.  Beware  of  envying  wicked  men,  when  you  see  them  in  health  and  prosper- 
ity,   • 60 

7.  Guard  against  repining  and  murmuring  against  the  providence  of  God, 
und^r  heavy  sickness  and  a^iction, 61 


6  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   III. 

SPECIAL  DIRECTIONS  TO  THE   CHILDREN  OF  GOD   WHEN 
UNDER  SICKNESS  OR  ANY  OTHER  AFFLICTION. 

1.  Let  believers  especially  guard  against  fainting  or  desponding  under  G-od's 
afflicting  hand, 70 

2.  Let  the  children  of  God  be  exemplary  in  patience  and  submission  to  him 
under  their  affliction, 78 

3.  Let  believers  be  much  employed  in  the  praises  of  God,  while  they  are  under 
affliction  by  sickness  or  otherwise, 85 

4.  Let  the  children  of  God,  when  visited  with  sickness,  set  about  actual  prep- 
aration for  death  and  eternity,  89 

5.  Let  believers  in  time  of  sickness  endeavor  all  they  can  to  glorify  God,  and 

edify  those  that  are  about  them  by  their  conversation  and  behavior,  -  •     96 

6.  Let  God's  children,  when  sick  or  dying,  feel  and  manifest  a  great  concern  for 
the  advancement  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  and  of  true  religion  among  the 
rising  generation, 102 

7.  Let  the  children  of  God  labor  to  fortify  themselves  against  all  Satan's  temp- 
tations and  assaults,  which  they  may  expect  to  meet  with  in  time  of  sick- 
ness and  affliction, 104 

CHAPTER   IV. 

SPECIAL     DIRECTIONS     TO     UNREGENERATE      PERSONS, 
WHEN  AFFLICTED  BY  SICKNESS  OR  OTHERWISE.    ' 

1.  Take  a  serious  view  of  the  miserable  condition  of  a  Christless  person  under 
sickness  or  heavy  affliction, 109 

2.  Let  unregenerate  persons  carefully  improve  their  sickness  and  affliction,  as 
a  means  to  further  their  conversion,  and  pray  that  God  may  bless  it  for 
that  end, Ill 

3.  Be  careful  to  obey  God's  voice  in  the  rod,  and  beware  of  slighting  it,  •   113 

4.  Cast  back  your  eyes  upon  the  sins  of  your  past  life,  and  labor  to  be  deeply 
humbled  for  them  before  the  Lord,  114 

5.  Flee  immediately  to  Jesus  Christ  by  a  true  faith,  and  close  with  him  as 
offered  to  you  in  the  gospel, 116 

6.  Call  for  the  elders  of  the  church,  that  they  may  pray  over  you  in  your  sick- 
ness,      116 

CHAPTER   V. 

DIRECTIONS  TO  THE  PEOPLE  OF  GOD  WHEN  THE  LORD  IS 
PLEASED  TO  RECOVER  THEM  FROM  SICKNESS  AND 
DISTRESS. 

1.  It  is  very  proper,  both  under  sickness  and  after  it,  to  examine  if  the  afflic- 

tion be  sanctified  to  you,  and  hath  come  from  the  love  of  God, 119 

2.  Make  conscience  of  offering  to  God  the  sacrifice  of  thanksgiving,  upon  his 
recovering  thee  from  sickness  or  any  distress, .• 120 


f 


CONTENTS.  7 

3.  When  the  Lord  is  pleased  to  grant,  thee  any  signal  mercy  or  deliverance 
from  trouble,  beware  of  forgetting  the  Lord's  kindness  towards  thee,  -    124 

4.  Inquire  after  those  fruits  of  righteousness  which  are  the  genuine  effects  of 
affliction  in  the  children  of  God,  who  are  duly  exercised  thereby,  ■  -  -  -   125 

5.  Be  careful  to  perform  those  resolutions,  engagements,  or  vows  you  have 
come  under  in  the  time  of  sickness,  and-  walk  suitably  to  them, 128 


CHAPTER   VI. 

DIRECTIONS  TO  THE  UNREGENERATE   WHEN  RECOVER- 
ED FROM  SICKNESS  AND  RESTORED  TO  HEALTH. 

1.  Seeing  the  afflictions  of  the  wicked  are  unsanctified,  it  is  necessary  you 
examine  what  sort  of  affliction  yours  hath  been,  and  what  fruits  it  hath 
produced  in  you, 131 

2.  Consider  the  great  danger  of  not  being  made  better  by  sickness,  and  of  not 
complying  with  the  voice  of  Cod's  rod, 133 

3.  Wonder  at  the  patience  of  God  in  sparing  such  hell-deserving  sinners  as 
you  are,  and  be  thankful  for  it, 135 

4.  Study  to  improve  the  sparing  mercy  and  goodness  of  God  to  you  in  a  right 
and  suitable  manner, 137 


CHAPTER   VII. 

DIRECTIONS  TO  THE  SICK  WHO  ARE  APPARENTLY  IN  A 
DYING  CONDITION,  AND  DRAWING  NEAR  TO  ANOTHER 
WORLD. 

1.  Consider,  when  death  stares  you  in  the  face,  that  now  is  the  time,  if  ever, 
to  exert  the  utmost  activity  in  preparing  to  meet  it, 142 

2.  Continue  to  the  last  in  the  exercise  of  true  repentance  and  hiuniliation  for 
sin, 146 

3.  Be  mindful  of  all  acts  of  justice  and  charity  which  may  be  incumbent  upon 
you  at  this  time, 147 

4.  Labor  to  overcome  the  love  of  life  and  the  fear  of  death,  that  you  may 
attain  to  willingness  to  die  and  leave  the  world  when  God  calleth  you  to 
it, 149 

5.  Study  to  imitate  the  ancient  worthies,  by  dying  in  faith, 158 

6.  Place  the  example  gf  other  dying  saints  before  you,  and  study  in  like  man- 
ner to  shine  in  grace,  and  be  exemplary  in  piety  and  heavenly  discourse, 
for  the  glory  of  God  and  good  of  souls,  when  you  are  going  off  the 
stage, 160 

7.  Let  dying  persons  be  much  in  prayer  and  ejaculations  to  God, 200 

Meditations  and  ejaculations  proper  for  a  sick  and  dying  person,  and  especially 

for  a  dying  believer, 202 

Meditations  for  drooping  believers  when  death  is  near, 208 

Additional  meditations  proper  for  any  sick  person  in  the  view  of  death,  •  •  213 


8  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

DIRECTIONS  TO  THE  FRIENDS  AND  NEIGHBORS  OF  THE 
SICK,  WHO  ARE  THEMSELVES  IN  HEALTH  FOR  THE 
TIME. 

1.  Be  very  thankful  to  G-od  for  the  great  mercy  of  health  and  strength,  and 
improve  it  to  his  glory,  ' 222 

2.  Make  conscience  of  visiting  your  sick  friends  and  neighbors,  believing  it 
your  duty  and  interest  so  to  do, 223 

3.  Let  the  friends  of  the  sick,  and  those  who  visit  them,  deal  faithfully  with 
them  about  their  souls, 224 

4.  Be  earnest  in  prayer  to  God  for  your  friends  when  sick  or  dying;  pray  with 
them  and  for  them, 231 

Petitions  for  the  sick, 232 

5.  Be  careful  to  furnish  your  friends  with  suitable  company  and  spiritual  con- 
verse, when  they  are  sick  or  dying, 234 

6.  Be  likewise  suitably  concerned  for  the  bodies  of  your  friends,  when  they  are 
sick, 236 

7.  When  the  sickness  of  your  relations  or  neighbors  doth  issue  in  death,  study 

a  Christian  and  suitable  behavior  under  such  a  dispensation, 236 

8.  Let  the  sickness  and  death  of  others  be  a  warning  to  you  in  time  of  health, 
to  make  due  preparation  for  the  time  of  sickness  and  dying  which  is  be- 
fore you, 244 

9-  Let  those  who  are  in  health  set  about  the  work  of  repentance  and  turning 
to  Grod  in  Christ  quickly,  and  beware  of  delaying  this  work  until  the  time 
of  sickness  and  of  dying, 252 


tjhivbrsitt; 


FROM 

THE  AUTHOR'S  ADDRESS  TO  THE  READER. 


The  subject  of  this  book,  however  melancholy  it  may 
appear  to  some,  is  of  vital  importance  to  all,  seeing  the 
word  of  God  and  our  own  experience  assure  us  that  "  man 
who  is  born  of  a  woman,  is  of  few  days  and  full  of  trouble," 
and  that  he  "is  born  to  trouble  as  the  sparks  fly  upward." 
Nay,  God's  dearest  children  are  not  exempted  from  this 
common  fate.  We  see  what  is  the  character  God  giveth 
his  church:  "0  thou  afflicted,  tossed  with  tempest,  and  not 
comforted  !"     Isa.  54  :  11. 

If  in  this  world  then  we  must  look  for  tribulation,  it  is 
highly  necessary  for  every  man  to  seek  direction  how  to 
provide  for  it,  and  behave  under  it,  so  that  he  may  glorify 
God,  edify  others,  and  attain  to  eternal  happiness  at  last. 
The  tribulations  we  have  to  look  for  here  are  manifold ;  but 
among  those  that  are  outward,  I  know  none  about  which 
men  ought  to  be  more  thoughtful  and  concerned,  than  bodily 
sickness,  which  often  is  the  harbinger  of  death,  and  ushers 
the  way  to  judgment. 

This  is  a  subject  not  much  discussed  in  public  sermons, 
which  are  delivered  only  to  them  that  are  in  health,  the 
sick  being  unable  to  attend  them.  Wherefore  it  seems  the 
more  necessary  to  treat  of  it  in  writing,  that  so  the  afflicted 
may  have  a  book  in  their  houses,  and  at  their  bedsides,  as 
a  monitor  to  preach  to  them  in  private,  when  they  are 
restrained  from  hearing  sermons  in  public. 

And  though  sometimes  ministers'  sermons  may  be  very 
1# 


10  TO   THE   liEADEE,. 

suitable  to  the  case  of  the  sick  and  afflicted,  yet,  alas,  most 
men  are  careless  and  forgetful  hearers  of  these  things  while 
they  are  in  health  and  prosperity,  reckoning  the  evil  day  at 
a  distance  from  them.  A  book,  then,  such  as  the  follow- 
ing directory,  being  with  them  in  time  of  sickness  or  afflic- 
tion, may,  by  the  divine  blessing,  be  useful  to  bring  to  their 
remembrance  those  counsels  and  admonitions  which  they 
very  much  neglected  in  the  time  of  their  health. 

Again,  ministers  of  the  gospel,  though  never  so  much 
inclined  to  attend  the  sick,  yet,  by  reason  of  disability,  and 
a  multiplicity  of  other  work,  cannot  be  always  with  them 
to  counsel  and  comfort  them.  But  sucli  a  book  as  this  they 
may  have  ever  at  hand  to  consult  with. 

And  since  the  afflicted,  for  the  most  part,  are  not  able  to 
read  for  themselves,  it  would  be  a  most  charitable  work  for 
friends  or  neighbors  that  attend  them,  to  lay  hold  on  proper 
seasons  for  reading  such  a  book  as  this  in  their  hearing,  and 
especially  such  chapters  or  directions  as  they  judge  most 
suitable  for  them.  Thus  you  might  be  helped  in  some 
measure  to  free  your  consciences,  and  do  your  last  offices  of 
kindness  to  your  sick  and  dying  friends,  when  you  can  serve 
them  no  longer  in  this  world.         *         ^ 

Seeing  we  all  have  many  harbingers  and  forerunners  of 
death  before  our  eyes,  it  will  be  highly  our  wisdom  to  keep 
ourselves  in  a  waiting  posture,  always  ready  and  willing  to 
die.  What  is  there  in  this  weary  land  to  tempt  us  to  desire 
to  abide  in  it  ?  Is  it  not  a  land  overwhelmed  with  sin  and 
sorrow  ?  0,  believers,  are  you  tossed  with  tempests  here  ? 
geek  the  wings  bf  a  dove,  that  you  may  flee  away  and  be 
at  rest.  Be  habitually  desiring  to  depart,  that  you  may  be 
with  Christ.  Surely  for  you  to  die  is  gain,  yea,  infinite  gain. 
What  are  the  imaginary  pleasures  of  this  world,  to  the  real 
happiness  of  the  next  ?  Though  the  struggles  of  death  be 
grievous  to  nature,  yet  the  gain  of  dying  should  reconcile 
you  to  it.     You  do  not  shrink  from  the  trouble  of  putting 


TO  THE    READER.  11 

off  your  clothes  at  night  to  gain  a  little  rest  to  your  bodies  ; 
and  why  should  you  shrink  from  unclothing  yourselves  of 
the  garment  of  flesh  at  God's  call,  to  gain  everlasting  rest 
to  your  souls,  and  the  fruition  of  Christ's  glorious  presence 
for  ever  ?  Let  the  thoughts  of  this  gain  put  you  upon  using 
all  means  to  get  your  hearts  weaned  from  the  love  of  the 
world  and  its  comforts.  Keep  the  mantle  of  earthly  enjoy- 
ments hanging  loose  about  you,  especially  in  these  calami- 
tous times,  that  so  it  may  be  easily  dropped  when  death 
comes  to  carry  you  to  the  eternal  world.  0,  for  a  more 
lively  faith  of  that  world,  and  of  him  who  is  Lord  and 
purchaser  of  it.  But  seeing  this  subject  is  enlarged  upon 
in  the  book  itself,  I  shall  add  no  more  here  upon  it.  I 
only  subjoin  a  collection  of  some  sweet  and  comforting 
texts  of  Scripture,  very  proper  for  dying  believers  to  medi- 
tate and  feed  on  by  faith,  to  cling  to  and  plead  with  God, 
and  draw  consolation  from,  when  they  have  a  near  prospect 
of  going  through  the  dark  valley  and  entering  into  the 
unknown  regions  of  eternity.  God's  word  will  then  be  our 
hope. 


12  COMFORTING-   TEXTS. 


COMFORTING   TEXTS   FOR   DYING   BELIEVERS. 

Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden, 
and  I  will  give  you  rest.  Matt.  11  :  28.  Him  that  cometh 
to  me,  1  will  in  no  wise  cast  out.     John  6  :  37. 

In  my  father's  house  are  many  mansions  :  if  it  were 
not  so,  I  would  have  told  you.  I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for 
you.  And  if  I  go  and  prepare  a  place  for  you,  I  will  come 
again  and  receive  you  unto  myself;  that  where  I  am,  there 
ye  may  be  also.     John  14  :  2,  3. 

Because  I  live,  ye  shall  live  also,     John  14 :  19. 

Surely  I  come  quickly.  Amen.  Even  so,  come,  Lord 
Jesus.     Rev.  22  :  20 

There  remaineth  therefore  a  rest  for  the  people  of  God. 
Heb.  4:9. 

I  have  waited  for  thy  salvation,  0  Lord.     Gen.  49  :  18. 

Lord,  now  lettest  thou  thy  servant  depart  in  peace ;  for 
mine  eyes  have  seen  thy  salvation.     Luke  2  :  29,  30. 

He  is  the  Rock  ;  his  work  is  perfect.     Deut.  32  :  4. 

The  Lord  will  perfect  that  which  concerneth  me.  Psa. 
138:8. 

Being  confident  of  this  very  thing,  that  he  which  hath 
begun  a  good  work  in  you,  will  perform  it  until  the  day  of 
Jesus  Christ.     Phil.  1:6. 

I  know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth,  and  that  he  shall 
Btand  at  the  latter  day  upon  the  earth.  And  though  after 
my  skin  worms  destroy  this  body,  yet  in  my  flesh  shall  I 
see  God ;  whom  I  shall  see  for  myself,  and  mine  eyes  shall 
behold,  and  not  another,  though  my  reins  J)e  consumed 
within  me.     Job  19  :  25,  26,  27. 

Although  my  house  be  not  so  with  God,  yet  he  hath 
made  with  me  an  everlasting  covenant,  ordered  in  all  things 
and  sure  ;  for  this  is  all  my  salvation,  and  all  my  desire. 
2  Sam.  23  :  5. 


COMFORTING-   TEXTS.  13 

Into  thy  hand  I  commit  my  spirit :  thou  hast  redeem- 
ed me,  0  Lord  God  of  truth.     Psalm  31:5. 

For  this  God  is  our  God  for  ever  and  ever  ;  he  will  be 
our  guide  even  unto  death.     Psalm  48  :  14. 

Thou  shalt  guide  me  with  thy  counsel,  and  afterwards 
receive  me  to  glory.  Whom  have  I  in  heaven  but  thee? 
and  there  is  none  upon  earth  that  I  desire  besides  thee.  My 
flesh  and  my  heart  faileth ;  but  God  is  the  strength  of  my 
heart,  and  my  portion  for  ever.     Psalm  73  :  24-26. 

The  sacrifices  of  God  are  a  broken  spirit  :  a  broken  and 
a  contrite  heart,  0  God,  thou  wilt  not  despise.  Psalm 
51:17. 

0  that  I  had  wings  like  a  dove;  for  then  would  I  fly 
away,  and  be  at  rest.  I  would  hasten  my  escape  from  the 
windy  storm  and  tempest.     Psalm  55  :  6,  8. 

Though  ye  have  lain  among  the  pots,  yet  shall  ye  be  as 
the  wings  of  a  dove  cpvered  with  silver,  and  her  feathers 
with  yellow  gold.     Psalm  68  :  13. 

The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  his  Son  cleanseth  us  from  all 
sin.     1  John,  1:7. 

Having  boldness  to  enter  into  the  holiest  by  the  blood  of 
Jesus.     Heb.  10  :  19. 

He  hath  said,  I  will  never  leave  thee,  nor  forsake  thee. 
Jesus  Christ— the  same  yesterday,  and  to-day,  and  for  ever. 
Heb.  13  :  5,  8. 

He  retaineth  not  his  anger  for  ever,  because  he  delight- 
eth  in  mercy.     Micali  7  :  18. 

Though  he  slay  me,  yet  will  I  trust  in  him.     Job  13:15. 

In  his  name  shall  the  Gentiles  trust.     Matt.  12  :  21. 

Blessed  are  all  they  that  put  their  trust  in  him.  Psa.  2:12. 

He  knoweth  our  frame;  he  remembereth  that  we  are 
dust.     Psalm  103  :  14. 

1  loathe  it;  I  would  not  live  always.     Job  7  :  16. 

We  know  that  if  our  earthly  house  of  this  tabernacle 
were  dissolved,   we  have   a  building  of  God,   a  house  not 


14  COMFOHTINa  TEXTS. 

made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens.  We  are  wiUing 
rather  to  be  absent  from  the  body,  and  to  be  present  with 
the  Lord.     2  Cor.  5:1,8. 

For  to  me  to  Hve  is  Christ,  and  to  die  is  gain.  Having 
a  desire  to  depart  and  be  with  Christ,  which  is  far  better. 
Phil.  1  :  21,  23. 

And  now.  Lord,  what  wait  I  for?  my  hope  is  in  thee. 
Psalm  39  :  7. 

My  beloved  is  mine,  and  I  am  his.  His  left  hand  is 
under  my  head,  and  his  right  hand  doth  embrace  me. 
Awake,  0  north  wind,  and  come,  thou  south ;  blow  upon 
my  garden,  that  the  spices  thereof  may  flow  out.  Let  my 
beloved  come  into  his  garden  and  eat  his  pleasant  fruits. 
Until  the  day  break,  and  the  shadows  flee  away.  Make 
haste,  my  beloved,  and  be  thou  like  to  a  roe  or  to  a  young 
hart  upon  the  mountains  of  spices.  Cant.  2:6,  16,  17,  and 
4:  16,  and  8  :  14. 

0  death,  where  is  thy  sting?  0  grave,  where  is  thy 
victory  ?  But  thanks  be  to  God,  which  giveth  us  the  victory, 
through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.     1  Cor.  15  :  65,  57. 

The  time  of  my  departure  is  at  hand.  I  have  fought  a 
good  fight,  I  have  finished  my  course,  I  have  kept  the  faith : 
henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of  righteousness, 
which  the  Lord,  the  righteous  Judge,  shall  give  me  at  that 
day ;  and  not  to  me  only,  but  unto  all  them  also  that  love 
his  appearing.     2  Tim.  4  :  6-8. 

The  day  of  death  is  better  than  the  day  of  one's  birth. 
Eccles.  7:1. 

And  God  shall  wipe  away  all  tears  from  their  eyes ;  and 
there  shall  be  no  more  death,  neither  sorrow,  nor  crying, 
neither  shall  there  be  any  more  pain  ;  for  the  former  things 
are  passed  away.     Rev.  21  :  4. 

This  is  a  faithful  saying,  and  worthy  of  all  acceptation, 
that  Christ  Jesus  came  into  the  world  to  save  simiers;  of 
whom  I  am  chief.      1  Tim.  1  :  15. 


COMFORTING-  TEXTS.  15 

God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten 
Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but 
have  everlasting  life.     John  3:16. 

For  he  hath  made  him  to  be  sin  for  us,  who  knew  no 
sin,  that  we  might  be  made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  him. 
2  Cor.  5  :  21. 

Thanks  be  unto  God  for  his  unspeakable  gift.  2  Cor. 
9  :  15. 

Blessed  be  the  Lord  God  of  Israel;  for  he  hath  visited 
and  redeemed  his  people,  and  hath  raised  up  a  horn  of 
salvation  for  us  in  the  house  of  his  servant  David.  Luke 
1  :68,  69. 

Them  which  sleep  in  Jesus  will  God  bring  with  him. 
Then  shall  we  be  caught  up  together  with  them  in  the 
clouds  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air;  and  so  shall  we  ever 
be  with  the  Lord.     1  Thess.  4  :  14,  17. 

Unto  him  that  loved  us,  and  washed  us  from  our  sins  in 
his  own  blood,  and  hath  made  us  kings  and  priests  unto 
God  and  his  Father ;  to  him  be  glory  and  dominion  for  ever 
and  ever.  Worthy  is  the  Lamb  that  was  slain,  to  receive 
power  and  glory.     Rev.  1  :  5,6,  and  5:12. 

"We  know  that  we  have  passed  from  death  unto  life, 
because  we  love  the  brethren.     1  John,  3  :  14. 

I  am  persuaded  that  neither  death,  nor  life,'  nor  angels, 
nor  principalities,  nor  powers,  nor  things  present,  nor  things 
to  come,  nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor  any  other  creature,  shall 
be  able  to  separate  us  from  the  love  of  God  which  is  in 
Christ  Jesus  our  Lord.     Rom.  8  :  38,  39. 

I  know  whom  I  have  believed,  and  am  persuaded  that 
he  is  able  to  keep  that  which  I  have  committed  unto  him 
against  that  day.     2  Tim.  1  :  12. 

I  count  all  things  but  loss  and  dung  that  I  may  win 
Christ,  and  be  found  irir  him,  not  having  mine  own  right- 
eousness, which  is  of  the  law,  but  that  which  is  through 
the  faith  of  Christ.     Phil.  3  :  8,  9. 


16  DYING-    EJACULATIONS. 

Christ  Jesus,  who  of  God  is  made  unto  us  wisdom,  and 
righteousness,  and  sanctification,  and  redemption.  1  Cor. 
1  :30. 

We  rejoice  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  have  no  confidence  in 
the  flesh.     Phil.  3:3. 

Giving  thanks  unto  the  Father,  which  hath  made  us  meet 
to  be  partakers  of  the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light.  Col. 
1  :12. 

Behold,  he  cometh  with  clouds ;  and  every  eye  shall 
see  him.  Amen.  Even  so,  come.  Lord  Jesus.  Rev.  1  :  7, 
and  22  :  20. 

Dundee,  5th  June,  1741. 


DYING   EJACULATIONS, 

WRITTEN  BY  THE  AUTHOR  A  PEW  DAYS  BEFORE   HE  DIED,  AND 
LEFT  WITH  HIS  BIBLE  LYING  ON  HIS  PILLOW,  MAY,  1750. 

0  let  me  sleep  in  Jesus  I 

1  would  not  live  always  in  this  evil  world,  that  has  little 
in  it  tempting,  and  seems  still  to  grow  worse,  and  where  the 
torrent  of  sin  and  backsliding  seems  to  grow  stronger. 

I  would-  desire  to  depart  and  be  with  Christ,  which  is' 
far  better  than  to  be  here.  I  am  willing  rather  to  be  absent 
from  the  body,  and  present  with  the  Lord.  Whom  have  I 
in  heaven  but  thee  ?  and  there  is  none  upon  earth  I  desire 
besides  thee :  for  though  my  heart,  strength,  and  flesh  fail, 
yet  the  Lord  will  be  the  strength  of  my  heart,  and  my 
portion  for  ever. 

Now,  Lord,  what  wait  I  for  ?  my  hope  is  in  thee ;  I  have 
waited  for  thy  salvation,  0  Lord. 

0  for  Simeon's  frame  of  mind,  to  be  saying,  "  Lord,  now 
hittest  thou  thy  servant  depart  in  peace ;  for  mine  eyes  have 
seen  thy  salvation."  ,    . 


DYING   EJACULATIONS.  17 

When  Christ  says,  "  Surely  I  come  quickly  ;"  may  my 
soul  answer,  ''Even  so,  come.  Lord  Jesus." 

I  am  living  on  the  righteousness  of  Christ,  yea,  dying  in 
the  Lord.  Even  so,  come.  I  am  detained  here  upon  the 
shore,  waiting  for  a  fair  wind  to  carry  me  over  this  Jordan. 
I  have  waited,  and  wall  wait  for  thy  salvation,  0  Lord. 
The  Lord  is  a  rock,  and  his  work  is  perfect;  Lord,  perfect 
what  concerneth  me. 

0,  that  I  could  say  with  Paul,  "I  am  now  ready  to  be 
offered,  and  the  time  of  my  departure  is  at  hand.  I  have 
fought  a  good  fight,  I  have  finished  my  course,  I  have  kept 
the  faith  :  henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of 
righteousness,  which  the  Lord  the  righteous  Judge  shall  give 
me  at  his  coming." 

I  am  vile  and  polluted.  0,  how  shall  I  be  cleansed  ? 
But  that  is  a  comforting  promise,  "  The  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ  his  Son  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin."  And  so  is  that, 
"  Though  ye  have  lain  among  the  pots,  yet  shall  ye  be  as 
doves  whose  wings  are  covered  with  silver,  and  their  feathers 
with  yellow  gold." 

I  resolve  to  obey,  to  submit  to  the  Lord's  will,  to  die  like 
Moses  and  Aaron,  the  one  at  mount  Hor,  the  other  at  mount 
Abarim.  They  went  up  and  died  there,  at  the  command 
of  the  Lord. 

0,  that  when  my  flesh  and  strength  fail,  God  may  be 
the  strength  of  my  heart  and  my  portion  for  ever  !  "When 
now  the  keepers  of  the  house  do  tremble,  0  that  Grod  may 
be  the  keeper  I  When  the  grinders  cease,  because  they  are 
few,  0  that  God  would  feed  my  soul  with  manna,  that  will 
need  none  of  these  implements  !  When  the  daughters  of 
music  are  brought  low,  0  to  be  fitted  for  the  heavenly  music 
above !  When  the  lookers-out  at  the  windows  are  darkened, 
0  that  my  soul  may  be  enlightened  to  see  Jesus  my 
Redeemer  I 

Lord,  help  the  unbelief  and  infidelity  of  my  heart ;  and 


18  DYING    EJACULATIONS. 

help  to  more  of  the  faith  of  a  risen  Jesua,  and  an  ascended 
Redeemer.  0  let  me  believe  and  feel  the  sweetness  of  that 
word  of  Christ,  "  I  ascend  to  my  Father  and  your  Father, 
and  to  my  God  and  your  God." 

0  how  shall  such  an  unholy  creature  as  I,  presume  to 
enter  into  such  a  pure  and  holy  place?  But  the  apostle  has 
taught  us,  we  may  have  boldness  to  enter  into  the  holiest 
of  all  by  the  blood  of  Jesus. 

0  that  when  the  time  of  my  last  combat  comes  with 
my  last  enemy  death,  I  may  be  helped  above  all  to  take 
the  shield  of  faith,  whereby  I  may  be  relieved  from  the 
sting  of  death,  and  may  quench  the  fiery  darts  of  the 
wicked  one. 

0  that  I  may  be  helped  to  adore  the  sovereignty  of 
God,  kiss  his  rod,  and  humbly  submit  to  it.  Save  me  from 
both  extremes ;  let  me  never  despise  the  chastening  of  the 
Lord,  nor  faint  when  I  am  rebuked  of  him. 

Now  the  prince  of  darkness  will  study  to  raise  tempests 
of  temptations  to  shipwreck  the  poor  weather-beaten  vessel 
of  my  soul,  when  it  would  enter  into  the  harbor  of  rest 
above  :  may  C  hrist  come  to  be  pilot ;  take  thou  the  helm, 
and  all  shall  be  safe. 

0  for  more  faith ;  may  my  faith  ripen  to  a  full  assurance, 
that  I  may  go  off  the  stage  rejoicing,  and  that  an  abundant 
entrance  may  be  ministered  to  me  into  the  kingdom  of  our 
Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.  ^ 

0  for  more  faith,  that  I  may  die  like  Simeon  when  he 
had  Christ  in  his  arms,  saying.  Now  let  thy  servant  depart 
in  peace ;  mine  eyes  have  seen  thy  salvation. 

Lord,  one  smile  of  thy  countenance  would  banish  away 
all  my  doubts  and  fears,  and  make  me  sing  in  pain. 

Is  my  Redeemer  gone  to  prepare  a  place  for  me  ?  why 
should  I  be  slothful  to  follow  his  steps,  when  he  is  saying, 
Come  up  hither ;  conle  up,  dwell  here ;  come  up,  reign 
here ;  come  up,  sing  here  ?  - 


DYING   EJACULATIONS.  19 

0  Lord,  deliver  my  soul  from  death,  ray  eyes  from 
tears,  and  my  feet  from  falling.  0  save  me  from  the 
horrible  pit,  draw  me  out  of  the  miry  clay,  set  my  feet  upon 
a  rock,  and  establish  my  goings,  and  put  a  new  song  in  my 
mouth. 

0  give  me  grace  to  strive  by  faith  and  prayer  to  enter 
in  at  the  strait  gate.  Lord,  thou  hast  bid  me  Knock,  and  it 
shall  be  opened  ;  ask,  and  ye  shall  receive ;  seek,  and  ye 
shall  find.  Lord,  I  knock — open  unto  me;  Lord,  I  would 
be  in,  I  must  be  in  ;  let  me  but  in  over  the  threshold  ;  let 
me  in  within  sight  of  my  Redeemer's  face,  within  sight  of 
the  smiles  of  his  countenance  ;  let  me  within  hearing  of  the 
songs  of  the  redeemed ;  let  me  but  get  to  the  outside  of  that 
praising  company;  I  shall  be  well  enough  if  I  get  in. 
Lord,  in  I  must  be  ;  out  I  cannot  stay.  0  shut  me  not  out 
with  swearers.  Sabbath-breakers,  and  other  profane  persons. 
Lord,  I  never  chose  their  company  while  in  this  world ;  do 
not  gather  my  soul  with  sinners  hereafter. 

The  redeemed  thou  art  gathering,  and  the  wicked  also  : 
Lord,  gather  me  with  thy  flock ;  they  are  fast  assembling ; 
the  church's  Head  is  gone ;  he  has  left  the  earth,  and  entered 
into  his  glory  ;  my  brethren  and  friends,  many  of  them,  have 
arrived  where  he  is ;  I  am  yet  behind.  0  how  great  is  the 
difference  between  my  state  and  theirs,  I  am  groaning  out 
my  complaint,  they  are  singing  God's  praise.  I  am  in 
darkness  and  cannot  see  thy  face,  but  they  behold  thee  face 
to  face.  0  should  I  be  satisfied  to  stay  behind,  when  my 
friends  are  gone  ?  0  help  me  to  look  after  them  with  a 
steadfast  eye,  and  cry,  0  Lord,  how  long? 

0  heavenly  Father,  draw  me  after  Jesus ;  for  none  can 
come  to  him  without  thine  aid.  0  Father,  draw  me  up 
there  where  he  is,  and  I  will  mount  up  as  on  eagles'  wings. 
0  draw  me ;  and  when  thou  seemest  to  fly  from  me.  Lord, 
enable  me  to  follow  hard  after  thee. 

0  thou  who  rememberedst  the  dying  thief,  when  on  the 


20  DYING-    EJACULATIONS. 

way  to  thy  kingdom,  0  remember  me  now  thou  art  seated 
in  thy  kingdom,  and  say  to  my  soul  when  I  am  dying, 
"  This  day  shalt  thou  be  with  me  in  paradise." 

Lord,  I  am  called  to  the  work  I  never  did  ;  0  give  me  the 
strength  I  never  had.  0  strengthen  me  like  Samson  for  this 
once,  when  at  death,  to  pull  down  the  stronghold  of  sin  in 
me.  Lord,  wash  away  my  sins  in  the  blood  of  Christ,  and 
then  my  soul  shall  not  sink  in  the  ocean  of  thy  wrath. 

'  0  what  is  my  life  but  a  vapor ;  a  sand-glass  of  sixty  or 
seventy  years  I  0  how  fast  does  it  run  down  I  0  vain  love 
of  life  I  0  give  me  grace  to  overcome  the  love  of  life,  and 
the  fear  of  death.  0  for  more  patience  and  less  fretting.  If 
the  damned  had  hope  of  being  saved  from  hell  after  a  thou- 
sand years  of  my  pain,  how  willingly  would  they  endure  it ! 
Blessed  be  God,  my  pains  are  no  hell,  their  state  is  not 
mine. 

Lord,  draw  near  to  me ;  my  body  is  full  of  trouble,  and 
my  life  draws  near  to  the  grave.  But,  Lord,  thy  loving- 
kindness  is  better  than  life.  0  make  thy  loving-kindness 
sure  to  me,  and  I  will  willingly  part  with  this  dying  life. 

0  that  I  could  make  all  the  world  see  the  beauty  of  my 
precious  and  adorable  Saviour. 

Nothing  but  an  interest  in  Christ  can  give  peace  in 
life,  or  comfort  in  death.  He  is  the  chief  among  ten  thou- 
sand, and  altogether  lovely.  My  body  is  in  part  dead,  but  I 
know  I  cannot  die  eternally  while  Jesus  lives.  I  must  go 
down  to  the  grave  ;  but  what  is  the  grave  ?  it  is  but  a  refining 
pot.  Since  my  Saviour  lay  in  it,  it  is  but  a  bed  of  roses. 
"He  is  the  rose  of  Sharon,  and  the  lily  of  the  valley." 

It  was  his  free  grace  that  drew  me  and  made  me  willing 
in  the  day  of  his  power ;  no  desire,  no  merit  in  me ;  it  was 
all  free  and  undeserved. 

0  let  the  chastisement  of  my  body  be  the  medicine  of  my 
soul,  to  cure  me  of  sin  and  bring  me  to  sincere  repentance  for 
it;  for  Christ  was  wounded  for  our  transgressions,  he  was 


DYING-    EJACULATIONS.  21 

bruised  for  our  iniquities :  the  chastisement  of  our  peace  was 
upon  him. 

Lord,  remember  the  chastisement  of  Christ  for  sin,  and 
let  my  pains  be  the  chastisement  of  a  father,  and  not  the 
wounds  of  an  enemy.  Let  Christ's  sufferings  mitigate 
mine. 

I  rejoice  in  the  prospect  of  that  glorious  inheritance 
reserved  in  safety.  I  could  not  comfortably  enter  e,ternity 
any  other  way  but  in  and  through  this  God-man  Mediator : 
if  he  was  not  God  as  well  as  man,  I  could  not  be  supported ; 
but  he  is  God. 

Oh,  this  precious  Saviour,  he  is  my  all  in  all ;  he  is  my 
all-sufficient  good,  my  portion,  and  my  choice ;  in  him  my 
vast  desires  are  fulfilled,  and  all  my  powers  rejoice :  I  am  trav- 
elling through  a  wilderness  to  a  city  of  habitation,  whose  - 
builder  and  maker  is  God. 

Oh,  delightful  thought  I  that  I,  who  was  going  on  in  sin, 
should  be  plucked  as  a  brand  out  of  the  burning.  Oh,  how 
will  they  lie  on  a  death-bed  who  have  nothing  but  their 
own  works  to  fly  to  ?  with  only  this  to  depend  upon,  I  should 
be  the  most  miserable  of  all  creatures ;  but  the  long  white 
robe  of  my  Redeemer's  righteousness  is  all  my  desire.  They 
are  truly  blessed,  they  alone  are  happy,  who  are  enabled  to 
exult  in  the  garment  of  celestial  glory  which  never  waxeth 
old — in  the  illustrious  robe  of  a  Saviour's  consummate  right- 
eousness, which  is  incorruptible  and  immortal.  This  is  a  robe 
which  hides  every  sin,  of  thought,  word,  or  deed,  that  I  have 
committed.  Oh,  how  unspeakably  happy  are  they  who  are 
justified  by  this  all-perfect  righteousness  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  who  therein  can  constantly  triumph  and  glory  I 

Lord,  I  live  upon  Christ,  I  live  upon  his  righteousness, 
I  live  upon  his  blood  and  merits;  yea,  I  die  also  leaning 
wholly  upon  this  Rock  and  Corner-stone.  It  is  not  past 
experiences  or  manifestations  I  depend  upon;  it  is  Christ,  a 
present  all-sufficient  Saviour,  and  perfect  righteousness  in 


22  DYING    WORDS    OF    THE    AUTHOR. 

him,  I  look  to.  All  my  attainments  are  but  loss  and  dung 
beside  him. 

When  I  find  myself  polluted,  I  go  to  this  fountain  for 
cleansing.  Lord,  give  me  delight  in  approaching  to  thee, 
delight  to  be  at  a  throne  of  grace.  0  that  I  could  make  my 
bed  there.  He,  and  die  there. 

The  kingdom  of  heaven  suffers  violence,  and  the  violent 
take  it  by  force.  0  for  strength  to  offer  a  holy  violence  by 
faith  |ind  prayer. 

Thus  the  author  died  as  he  lived,  testifying  the  power  of 
religion  upon  himself;  and  that  at  a  time  when  men  have 
most  need  of  its  comforts.  .    - .      3 


DYING  WORDS  OF  THE  AUTHOR 

TO  HIS  WIFE  AND  CHILDREN,  FOUND  AMONG  HIS  PAPERS  AFTER 
HIS  DEATH,  DATED  NOV.  10, 1749. 

TO    MY   WIFE. 

My  Dear — My  distress  calls  me  to  think  of  parting  with 
you ;  the  will  of  the  Lord  be  done.  I  thank  you  for  your 
tender  care  of  me;  may  the  Lord  bless  and  reward  you  for 
it,  and  sanctify  your  own  tenderness,  and  support  you  under 
it.  As  you  have  studied  to  live  a  life  of  faith  and  prayer  all 
your  days,  so  I  hope  and  believe  you  will  continue  to  the  end. 
In  all  your  difficulties  and  fears,  encourage  yourself  in  the 
Lord  your  God.  Commit  your  ways  to  him  ;  trust  Him  that 
is  faithful  and  true.  I  resign  you,  my  dear,  to  the  Husband 
of  husbands,  our  dearest  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

TO    MY     CHILDREN.  . 

Dear  Children — Your  earthly  father  must  leave  you : 
your  heavenly  Father  is  immortal.  0,  cleave  fast  to  him. 
Trifle  not  about  your  souls'  concerns  in  time  of  health ;  mind 
these  things  as  the  one  thing  needful ;  this  you  will  not  repent 


DYING   WORDS    OF    THE    AUTHOR.  23 

of  when  you  come  within  a  near  view  of  death,  and  endless 
eternity.  0  press  for  clear  views  of  your  interest  in  Christ, 
the  only  Surety  and  Saviour  of  sinners.  Among  other  evi- 
dences of  it,  live  by  faith  on  him,  and  study  holiness  in  heart 
and  life.  Dear  children,  think  how  you  will  be  able  to  stand 
before  Christ  your  Judge  at  the  last  day,  unless  you  have 
Christ's  image  on  you,  and  be  made  new  creatures.  The 
Lord  make  you  all  such,  and  bless  you  with  his  best  blessing. 
My  blessing  be  upon  you  all.  What  means  God  gave  me,  I 
have  bestowed  them  on  you,  or  left  them  to  you.  Be  kind 
and  careful  of  your  mother  while  you  have  her.  And  let 
none  of  you  forget,  that  though  I  go  before  you  to  the  dust, 
you  must  all  quickly  follow  me.  0  that  we  may  all  meet 
together  at  the  right  hand  of  our  Redeemer,  to  see  his  face, 
and  sing  his  praise.  The  time  is  near,  be  ye  therefore  also 
ready. 

Now,  my  dear  wife  and  children,  remember  what  is 
above,  as  the  words  of  your  affectionate  husband,  and  loving 
father,  who,  being  dead,  yet  hereby  speaketh  to  you  for  your 
eternal  good  and  happiness.     May  they  sink  into  your  heart. 

So  prayeth 

JOHN  WILLISON. 


THE 


AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 


INTRODUCTION. 

Man,  when  he  first  came  from  his  Maker's  hand,  was 
holy  and  innocent,  pure  from  sin,  and  consequently  free  from 
sickness  and  trouble,  enjoying  uninterrupted  health  and 
prosperity,  both  in  body  and  soul.  But  no  sooner  was  he 
tainted  with  sin,  than  he  became  liable  to  all  sorts  of  mise- 
ries, temporal,  spiritual,  and  eternal ;  his  soul  being  the  res- 
idence of  sins  and  lusts,  his  body  turned  the  receptacle  of 
sickness  and  diseases.  And  seeing  God's  own  children  have 
the  reUcs  of  sin  and  corruption  in  them,  while  in  this  world 
they  are  not  to  expect  exemption  from  such  afflictions ;  and 
the  infinitely  wise  God  sees  meet  to  make  use  of  bodily 
diseases  to  correct  the  corruptions,  and  try  the  graces  of  his 
people,  and  to  promote  both  their  spiritual  and  eternal  advan- 
tage. Hence  it  is  said  of  Lazarus,  "  Behold,  he  whom  thou 
lovest  is  sick."  John  11  :  3.  He  was  beloved,  and  yet 
sick.  It  is  no  rare  thing  for  the  dearest  of  God's  saints  to 
be  put  to  chatter  like  cranes  and  mourn  like  doves,  by  rea- 
son of  sore  sickness,  as  Hezekiah  did.  Isa.  38  :  14.  Sanc- 
tified and  healthy  souls  may  be  matched  with  weak  and 
sickly  bodies,  as  was  Gaius.  3  John,  2.  Still,  the  case 
is  sometimes  most  trying,  even  to  the  best  of  God's  people  ; 
and  they  are  never  more  ready  to  .question  God's  love,  or 
quarrel  with  his  providence,  than  under  heavy  sickness  and 

Aff.  Man'»  Comp.         ^  2 


26  APFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

bodily  distress.  It  is  therefore  highly  the  concern  of  all, 
whether  families  or  private  persons,  to  inquire  how  they 
ought  to  behave  under  or  after  afflicting  sickness ;  and  how 
they  shall  provide  for  such  an  evil  time  before  it  comes. 
And  for  the  help  of  all  that  desire  instruction  in  this  matter, 
I  have  written  the  following  directory,  which,  for  method's 
sake,  I  shall  divide  into  several  chapters. 

1.  General  directions  to  all  families  and  persons  visited 
with  sickness  and  affliction. 

2.  Particular  directions  to  those  who  are  sharply  afflicted 
with  sore  sickness  and  long  trouble. 

3.  Directions  to  the  children  of  God  under  sickness. 

4.  Directions  to  unregenerate  persons  under  sickness. 

5.  Directions  to  the  people  of  God  when  recovered  from 
sickness. 

6.  Directions  to  unrenewed  persons  recovered  from  sick- 
ness. 

7.  Directions  to  those  sick  persons  who  are,  apparently, 
in  a  dying  condition. 

8.  Directions  to  the  relations,  acquaintances,  and  neigh- 
bors of  the  sick,  who  are  themselves  in  health  for  the 
time. 

N.  B.  Let  it  be  remembered,  that  what  I  say  to  those 
visited  with  sickness,  is  likewise  applicable  to  all  other 
afflicted  persons,  whatever  their  distress  be.  -  ^ , ' 


GENERAL  DIRECTIONS.  27 

CHAPTER    I. 

GENERAL  DIRECTIONS  TO  ALL  FAMILIES  AND  PERSONS 
VISITED  WITH  SICKNESS. 

Direction  1.     Diligently  inquire  into  the  ends  and  designs  for 
■which  God  usually  sends  sickness  and  afflictions  upon  men. 

An  infinitely  holy  and  gracious  God  hath  various  and 
wise  ends  in  afflicting  the  children  of  men,  whether  they  be 
converted  or  unconverted,  which  ought  to  be  duly  consid- 
ered by  all,  and  especially  by  those  who  are  visited  with 
sickness  ;  some  of  which  I  shall  mention. 

1.  God  visits  with  sickness,  to  cause  careless  sinners  to 
bethink  themselves  concerning  their  soul's  estate,  who,  per- 
haps, never  had  a  serious  thought  about  it  before.  There 
are  many  who,  when  in  health  and  strength,  are  so  intent 
upon  the  pleasures  and  profits  of  the  world  that  they  mind 
nothing  else  ;  all  the  warnings,  exhortations,  and  counsels 
of  ministers,  teachers,  and  friends,  are  lost  upon  them  ;  they 
cannot  endure  to  entertain  a  thought  of  God,  of  the  soul, 
of  death,  of  heaven,  of  hell,  or  of  judgment  to  come,  till 
God  doth  cast  them  into  some  sickness  or  bodily  distress ; 
and  then  sometimes  they  begin,  with  the  prodigal,  to  come 
to  themselves,  and  bethink  themselves  concerning  their 
souls  and  a  future  life. .  Now,  this  is  God's  desiga :  "  If 
they  bethink  themselves  in  the  land  whither  they  are  car- 
ried captives,  and  repent."  1  Kings,  8  :  47.  By  sickness, 
God  gives  a  man  that  before  was  wholly  diverted  from 
the  care  of  his  soul  by  business,  company,  and  pleasures, 
occasion  to  bethink  himself.  The  man  is  now  confined 
to  his  chamber,  is  deprived  of  his  former  company  and 
diversions,  and  so  gets  time  and  leisure  to  commune  with 
his  own  heart,  and  reflect  on  his  former  ways,  and  to  hear 
what  conscience  speaks  concerning  a  judgment-day,  and  a 
world  to  come,  and  his  need  of  a  Saviour.     And  so,  by  the 


28  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

blessing  of  God  upon  such  afflictions,  not  a  few  have  begun 
their  first  acquaintance  with  God  and  Christ,  and  serious 
rehgion.  Nay,  it  is  in  the  furnace  that  Christ  has  usually 
formed  the  most  excellent  vessels  of  honor  and  praise.  "  I 
have  chosen  thee  in  the  furnace  of  affliction."  Isa.  48  :  10. 
Manasseh,  the  prodigal,  Paul,  and  the  jailer,  were  all  chosen 
there. 

2.  God  visits  us  with  sickness,  in  order  to  instruct  and 
teach  us  things  we  know  not.  Psa.  90  :  12.  It  was  the 
saying  of  Luther,  Via  crucis  est  via  lucis — The  path  of  the 
cross  is  the  path  of  light.  And  indeed  the  school  of  afflic- 
tion is  the  place  where  many  of  Zion's  scholars  have  made 
good  proficiency  in  spiritual  and  experimental  knowledge. 
Now,  there  are  several  remarkable  lessons  which  God  would 
teach  us  by  the  rod. 

One  is  the  knowledge  of  God.  It  is  said  of  Manasseh, 
"  When  he  was  in  affliction,  then  Manasseh  knew  that  the 
Lord  was  God."  2  Chron.  33  :  12,  13.  Though  Manasseh 
was  well  educated,  and  early  taught  the  knowledge  of  God, 
yet  till  now  he  knew  not  the  Lord ;  but  now  he  knew  him 
in  his  power  and  greatness,  his  holiness  and  hatred  of  sin  ; 
now  he  knew  God  in  his  goodness  and  mercy,  and  wondered 
that  he  had  kept  him  so  long  out  of  hell. 

Another  lesson  is  the  knowledge  of  ourselves.  In  time 
of  health  and  prosperity,  we  are  apt  to  forget  ourselves  and 
our  mortality  ;  but  sickness  causeth  us  to  know  that  we  are 
but  men,  and  frail  men.  Psalm  9  :  20 — that  God  hath  an 
absolute  sovereignty  over  us,  and  can  as  easily  crush  us  as 
we  do  a  moth. 

He  teacheth  us  the  emptiness  of  the  world.  How  vain 
a  help  is  that  which  fails  a  man  in  the  time  of  his  greatest 
need ;  and  ofttimes  we  see,  that  worldly  means  and  friends 
can  neither  give  the  least  ease  to  the  bodies,  nor  comfort  to 
the  souls  of  persons  imder  sickness  and  distress. 

Another  lesson  is  the  great  evil  of  sin,  which  is  the  cause 


GENERAL  DIRECTIONS.  29 

of  all  sickness  and  diseases  whatsoever.  "  For  this  cause 
many  are  weak  and  sickly  among  you."  1  Cor.  11  :  30. 
Ah,  what  a  root  of  bitterness  must  that  be,  which  brings 
forth  such  bitter  fruit  I 

He  showeth  us  the  preciousness  and  excellency  of  Christ 
and  his  promises,  which  alone  can  enable  a  Christian  to 
rejoice  in  tribulation,  and  be  calm  under  the  greatest  pains 
and  diseases.  There  are  many  who  are  indifferent  about 
Chrifet  in  time  of  health,  who,  when  sickness  comes,  through 
the  blessing  of  God  do  change  their  note,  and  cry,  0  for  an 
interest  in  Christ  above  all  things  I 

3,  God  sends  such  trials  and  distresses,  in  order  to  mor- 
tify and  kill  sin  in  us.  "By  this  shall  the  iniquity  of  Jacob 
be  purged,  and  this  is  all  the  fruit  to  take  away  his  sin." 
Isa.  27  :  9.  And  indeed  sickness  and  affliction  have  a  ten- 
dency to  weaken  and  subdue  our  prevaiHng  sins  and  lusts. 
0  man,  is  thy  heart  turned  hard,  so  that  thou  art  not  sensible 
of  thy  OAvn  sins  or  of  others'  sufferings  ?  God  sees  meet  to 
try  the  fire  of  affliction,  to  see  if  it  will  melt  thy  frozen 
heart.  Hast  thou  undervalued  health,  and  slighted  thy 
mercies  ?  Now  God  removes  them  from  thee,  that  by  the 
want  of  them  thou  mayest  know  the  worth  of  them.  Art 
thou  turned  proud  and  self-conceited  ?  God  sends  thee  a 
thorn  in  the  flesh  to  prick  the  swollen  bladder  of  pride,  that 
thou  mayest  not  be  puffed  up  above  measure  ;  God  lays  thee 
low  upon  thy  bed,  that  thou  mayest  be  lowly  in  thy  heart. 
Doth  love  to  the  world  prevail  in  thee  ?  God  sends  affliction 
to  discover  its  emptiness,  and  wean  thee  from  it.  Art  thou 
fallen  secure,  dead,  and  formal  ?  God  sends  affliction  to 
awake  thee,  that  thou  mayest  not  sleep  the  sleep  of  death. 

4.  God  sends  sickness  to  awaken  in  us  the  spirit  of 
prayer  and  supplication,  and  make  us  more  earnest  and 
importunate  in  our  addresses  to  the  throne  of  grace.  There 
is  a  great  difference  between  our  prayers  in  health  and  in 
sickness,  between  our  humiliations  in  prosperity  and  in  adver- 


30  AFFLICTED    MAN'S    COMPANION. 

sity.  In  prosperity  we  pray  heavily  and  drowsily  ;  but 
adversity  adds  wings  to  our  desires.  "  Lord,  in  trouble  have 
they  visited  thee;  they  poured  out  a  prayer  when  thy 
chastening  was  upon  them."  Isa.  26  :  16.  Though  they 
were  backward  enough  to  prayer  before,  yet  they  pour  it  out 
most  freely  now.  The  very  heathen  mariners  cried  aloud 
to  God  in  a  storm.  What  a  famous  prayer  did  Manasseh 
make  when  he  was  under  his  iron  fetters.  We  find  it  thrice 
mentioned.  2  Chron.  33  :  13,  18,  19.  And  the  voice  of 
fervent  prayer  is  what  the  Lord  desires  to  hear. 

5.  Another  end  is,  to  loosen  our  hearts  from  the  things 
of  this  world,  and  cause  us  to  look  and  long  for  heaven. 
When  we  enjoy  health  and  ease  in  this  world,  we  are  apt 
to  say  with  Peter  on  the  mount,  "It  is  good  for  us  to  be 
here;"  but  when  distress  cometh,  God's  people  will  turn 
their  tongue,  and  say  with  the  Psalmist,  "  It  is  good  for  me 
to  draw  near  to  God."  Psalm  73  :  28.  When  things  here 
go  well  with-us,  we  are  apt  to  think  ourselves  at  home  ;  but 
when  trouble  ariseth,  we  begin  to  say.  Arise,  let  us  depart, 
this  is  not  our  rest.  Though  heaven  was  much  out  of  sight 
and  out  of  miiid  before,  yet,  when  afflicting  sickness  comes, 
the  poor  believer  will  sigh,  and  say  with  David,  "  0  that  I 
had  wings,  like  a  dove  :  for  then  would  I  fly  away  and  be 
at  rest.  I  would  hasten  my  escape  from  the  windy 
tempest."     Psalm  55  :  6. 

6.  God  designs  to  make  the  world  bitter,  and  Christ 
sweet  to  us  By  such  afflictions,  he  lets  men  see  that  the 
world  is  nothing  but  vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit — that 
riches  avail  not  in  the  day  of  wrath ;  then  it  is  that  they 
may  see  the  insufficiency  of  the  \i'orld  to  relieve  them — that, 
as  one  saith,  "  A  velvet  slipper  cannot  cure  the  gout,  a 
golden  cap  cannot  drive  away  the  headache,  nor  a  bed  of 
down  give  ease  in  a  fever."  And  as  the  world  turns  bitter, 
so  Christ  grows  sweet  to  the  believer.  In  time  of  ease  and 
health,  Christ  is  often  very  much  neglected  and  forgot.    As 


GENERAL  DIRECTIONS.  .  31 

the  disciples,  while  the  sea  was  calm,  suffered  Christ  to 
sleep  with  them  in  the  ship,  thinking  they  might  make  their 
voyage  well  enough  without  his  help  ;  but  when  they  are 
ready  to  be  drowned,  then  they  see  their  need  of  Christ, 
they  awake  him,  crying,  "Master,  save  us,  or  we  perish  ;" 
so  the  best  of  saints,  when  all  is  easy  about  them,  are  prone 
to  suffer  Christ  to  sleep  within  them,  and  thus  neglect  the 
lively  actings  of  faith  on  Christ  ;  but  when  the  storm  of 
affliction  begins  to  rise,  and  they  are  ready  to  be  overwhelmed 
with  distress,  then  they  cry,  "  None  but  Christ,  none  but 
Christ." 

7.  Gad  visits  with  sickness  and  distress,  in  order  both  to 
prove  and  improve  his  people's  graces.  Deut.  8:2;  Rev. 
2:10,     Grace  is  hereby  both  tried  and  strengthened. 

Such  afflictions  do  prove  both  the  truth  and  strength 
of  our  graces,  as  they  serve  to  try  if  we  love  God  for  him- 
self— if  we  can  endure  and  hold  out  in  serving  him,  waiting 
and  depending  upon  him,  notwithstanding  discouragements. 
That  faith  will  suffice  for  a  little  affliction,  that  will  not 
suffice  for  a  great  one.  Peter  had  faith  enough  to  come 
upon  the  sea  at  Christ's  call ;  but  as  soon  as  the  waves 
began  to  swell,  his  faith  began  to  fail  and  his  feet  to  sink, 
till  Christ  mercifully  caught  hold  of  him,  saying,  "0  thou 
of  little  faith,  wherefore  didst  thou  doubt  ?"  Matt.  14  :  31. 
Little  did  Peter  think  his  faith  was  so  weak  till  now. 

They  tend  to  improve  our  graces  also,  by  quickening 
and  strengthening  them.  They  serve  as  a  whetstone  to 
sharpen  faith,  so  that  the  soul  is  made  to  renounce  earthly 
shelters,  and  to  clasp  about  God  in  Christ,  as  its  only  refuge 
and  portion.  They  excite  to  repentance  and  serious  mourn- 
ing for  sin  ;  for,  like  the  winter  frost  and  snows,  they  make 
the  fallow-ground  of  our  heart  more  tender.  They  prompt 
us  to  heavenly-mindedness,  self-denial,  and  patient  waiting 
on  God.  Yea,  the  experience  of  God's  people  can  attest 
^  -it,  that  grace  is  never  more  lively  than  under  affliction. 


32  AFFLICTED   MAN'S  COMPANION. 

David  never  found  himself  better,  a^  to  his  spiritual  state, 
than  when  he  was  persecuted  and  hunted  as  a  partridge  on 
the  mountains  ;  and  hence  he  says,  "It  is  good  for  me  that 
I  have  been  afflicted."     Psa.  119  :  71. 

8.  God's  aim  is,  to  awaken  us  to  redeem  time,  to  pre- 
pare for  flitting,  and  clear  up  our  evidence  for  heaven.  In 
the  time  of  health  we  are  apt  to  trifle  away  time,  to  loiter 
on  our  journey,  and  forget  that  we  are  pilgrims  on  the 
earth;  wherefore  God  sends  sickness  as  his  messenger,  to 
remind  us  thereof. 

Now  it  highly  concerns  us,  when  sickness  attacks  us,  to 
consider  and  meditate  upon  these  ends  for  which  God  brings 
on  distress,  and  pray  earnestly  that  they  may  be  accomplished 
in  us ;  and  so  our  sickness  shall  not  be  unto  death,  spiritual 
or  eternal,  but  to  the  glory  of  God  and  the  good  of  our  souls. 

Direction  2.  Let  all  who  are  visited  with  sickness  or  distress, 
search  for  the  Achan  in  the  camp,  and  inquire  diligently  what 
is  the  ground  and  cause  of  God's  controversy  with  them. 

It  hath  been  the  practice  of  God's  people  in  scripture 
times,  to  inquire  into  the  cause  and  meaning  of  God's  rods 
which  have  been  laid  upon  them.  So  David,  when  the  land 
of  Israel  was  three  years  under  the  stroke  of  famine,  inquired 
into  the  meaning  of  it.  2  Sam.  21  :  1.  So  Job  is  exceed- 
ingly desirous  to  know  why  God  set  him  up  as  a  mark  for  his 
arrows.  Job  7  :  20.  And  hence  it  is  that  he  makes  that  peti- 
tion which  is  most  suitable  for  every  man  in  distress,  "  Show 
me  wherefore  thou  contendest  with  me."     Job  10  :  2. 

I  grant,  indeed,  that  God  sometimes  visits  his  people  with 
affliction,  for  the  trial  and  exercise  of  their  grace  and  for 
their  spiritual  instruction,  more  than  for  the  correction  of 
sin.  But  sin  being  the  origin  and  foundation  of  all  affliction, 
it  is  safest,  when  it  is  our  own  case,  and  most  acceptable  to 
God,  to  look  on  sin  as  the  procuring  cause.  Or  if  our  sins 
have  not  immediately  procured  the  present  affliction,  yet 


aENERAL   DIRECTIONS.  33 

the  best  of  God's  children  must  own  that  they  have  at 
least  deserved  it.  We  see  the  sin  of  the  Corinthians  is 
mentioned  as  the  cause  of  their  sickness  :  "  For  this  cause 
many  are  weak  and  sickly  among  you."  1  Cor.  11  :  30. 
The  Psalmist  concludes  the  very  same  thing :  "  Fools,  be- 
cause of  their  transgression  and  their  iniquities,  are  afflict- 
ed ;  their  soul  ahhorreth  all  manner  of  meat,  and  they  draw 
nigh  unto  the  gates  of  death."  Psa.  107:  17,  18.  But, 
ordinarily,  by  sickness  the  Lord  points  at  some  one  sin  in  us 
more  than  another — some  Jonah .  in  the  ship,  that  hath 
raised  the  storm,  which  the  Lord  would  have  us  to  search 
out  and  throw  overboard  without  delay. 

GluESTiON.  But  how  shall  we  discover  the  particular  sin 
for  which  God  afflicts  us  with  sickness  or  distress  ? 

Answer.  1.  Study  the  Lord's  word,  and  the  chastise- 
ments there  recorded,  which  he  hath  inflicted  upon  people 
for  their  sins,  and  inquire  if  you  be  guilty  of  the  like. 
Observe  what  hath  been  God's  mind  to  his  people,  and  what 
sin  he  hath  pointed  out  to  them  when  they  have  been 
brought  under  such  a  rod,  and  so  you  may  learn  his  mind 
to  you.  "  For  whatsoever  things  were  written  aforetime, 
were  written  for  our  learning."     Rom.  15:4. 

2.  Consider  what  is  the  sin  of  which  conscience  doth 
most  of  all  accuse  thee,  in  thy  most  serious  and  solitary 
hours.  Conscience  is  God's  deputy  and  thy  bosom-monitor, 
whose  voice,  perhaps,  thou  hast  little  regarded  in  the  day 
of  thy  health  ;  wherefore  God  hath  sent  a  sharper  messenger 
to  second  the  voice  of  conscience.  Hear  now  the  voice  of 
the  rod,  for  it  is  the  same  with  the  voice  of  conscience.  In 
the  day  of  prosperity,  carnal  profits  and  pleasures  made 
such  a  noise  that  the  voice  of  conscience  could  not  be 
heard ;  wherefore  God  hath  brought  on  thee  the  silent  night 
of  adversity,  that  his  deputy  may  obtain  an  audience. 
Well,  then,  give  ear — what  saith  conscience  now  ?  May 
you  not  hear  it  saying,  as  Reuben  to  his  brethren  in  distress, 

2* 

0?  THl 


34  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

Spake  I  not  to  you  in  the  day  of  health,  do  not  commit  such 
a  sm,  and  do  not  delay  repenting  for  such  a  sin  ;  but  you 
would  not  hear.  0  man,  let  conscience  get  a  hearing  at 
last,  as  it  got  with  the  patriarchs,  when  they  were  brought 
to  distress  in  Egypt,  and  made  to  confess  their  sin  in  selling 
Joseph :  "  We  are  verily  guilty  concerning  our  brother,  in 
that  we  saw  the  anguish  of  his  soul  when  he  besought  us, 
and  we  would  not  hear  ;  therefore  is  this  distress  come 
upon  us."     Gen.  42:21. 

3.  Consider  what  are  tTie  evils  that  others  have  observed 
in  you,  whether  they  be  friends  or  foes.  Hearken  to  what 
a  Christian  friend  noticeth  in  you,  either  when  speaking  to 
you,  or  to  others  about  you.  "  Let  the  righteous  smite  me," 
saith  David,  "and  it  shall  be  a  kindness."  Yea,  do  not 
disregard  what  enemies  say  of  you;  as  David  got  good  by 
the  malicious  reproaches  of  Shimei,  in  the  day  of  his  afflic- 
tion, so  may  you  in  the  time  of  distress :  for  sometimes 
malice  itself  will  speak  truth.  Enemies  are  sharp-sighted 
to  spy  out  our  faults,  and  so  may,  through  the  divine 
blessing,  prove  monitors  to  us,  both  with  respect  to  sin  and 
duty. 

4.  Consider  the  nature  and  circumstances  of  thy  distress. 
Ofttimes  the  affliction  is  so  suitable  to  the  transgression,  that 
we  may  clearly  read  our  sin  written  on  the  forehead  of  our 
punishment,  as  in  the  case  of  Adonibezek  and  many  others. 
Judges  1  :  6,  7.  And  also  you  may  be  helped  to  find  it  out 
by  the  Lord's  timing  of  the  rod  to  you.  Was  it  sent  when 
you  were  under  much  formality  in  duty ;  or  when  you  were 
eagerly  pursuing  the  things  of  the  world ;  or  when  you 
were  under  the  power  of  some  prevailing  lust  ?  then  the 
rod  comes  to  reprove  you,  and  awake  you  to  see  the  evil 
thereof. 

5.  Consider  what  is  the  sin  that  hath  been  formerly  most 
affrighting  to  thy  thoughts,  and  perplexing  to  thy  conscience, 
when  thou  hast  been  in  the  immediate  view  of  death  and 


GENERAL  DIRECTIONS.  35 

judgment.  It  is  very  likely,  if  thou  hast  not  truly  repented 
of  it,  that  is  the  sin  which  God  now  intends  to  awaken  thee 
to  see  the  evil  of,  that  thou  mayest  sincerely  mourn  for 
and  turn  from  it,  looking  to  God  in  Christ  for  pardon  and 
mercy. 

Objection.  Ah,  saith  one,  it  is  my  lot  to  lie  under  a 
dumb  and  silent  rod ;  I  do  not  understand  its  language,  I 
cannot  hear  its  voice,  I  cannot  find  out  the  sin  that  is  pointed 
at  by  it ;  what  course  shall  I  take  ? 

Answer.  1.  Be  deeply  humbled  under  this  trial,  and 
bewail  thy  case  before  the  Lord  ;  for  it  very  much  aggra- 
vates the  affliction  to  God's  people,  when  they  know  not 
the  language  of  it.  Hence  was  it  that  Job  lamented  so 
heavily  that  his  way  was  hid,  and  he  knew  not  the  reason 
of  God's  contending  with  him.     Job  3  :  23. 

2.  A  believer's  case  may  be  sometimes  so  dark  that  it 
requires  a  great  deal  of  spiritual  wisdom  to  enable  him  to 
hear  the  voice  of  the  rod,  and  understand  its  language. 
Hence  it  is  said,  "  The  man  of  wisdom  shall  see  thy  name" 
upon  it.  Micah  6:9.  Now,  this  wisdom  can  only  come 
from  above;  therefore, 

3.  Go  to  God,  and  earnestly  beg  for  wisdom,  that  you 
may  know  his  mind,  and  the  meaning  of  the  rod.  Do  as 
Rebecca  did,  when  she  went  to  inquire  of  the  Lord,  saying, 
"  Why  am  I  thus  ?"  Gen.  25  :  22.  Cry  to  God  to  give 
you  his  Spirit,  to  teach  and  enlighten  you  to  see  sin  in  its 
evil,  and  the  particular  evils  you  are  guilty  of  This  was 
Job's  course  in  his  affliction:  "  Show  me  wherefore  thou 
contendest  with  me.  That  which  I  see  not,  teach  thou  me. 
Make  me  to  know  my  transgression,  and  my  sin."  There 
is  no  better  way  for  a  prisoner  to  know  the  reason  of  his 
confinement,  than  to  ask  the  magistrate  who  committed  him. 
God  is  a  wise  agent,  and  can  give  the  best  account  of  his 
own  actions. 

4.  If  thou   canst  not   find   out   the  particular  sin  for 


36  AFFLICTED   MAN'S    COMPANION. 

which  God  afflicts  thee,  then  labor  to  repent  of  every  known 
sin,  and  cry  for  pardon  of  every  unknown  and  forgotten  sin 
also.  Do  that  out  of  wisdom  which  Herod  did  out  of 
malice,  who,  because  he  could  not  fmd  out  the  babe  Jesus, 
killed  all  the  little  ones  of  Bethlehem  that  he  might  be  sure 
to  kill  Jesus  among  them.  Let  us  seek  the  utter  ruin  and 
death  of  all  our  sins,  that  we  may  be  sure  to  destroy  that 
sin  for  which  God  afflicts  us. 

5.  Study  to  exercise  a  strong  faith,  and  a  humble  sub- 
mission, while  God  keeps  you  under  the  silent  rod.  Believe 
firmly  that  God  is  just,  though  you  know  not  for  what  he 
contends.  And  however  long  he  thinks  fit  to  make  you 
walk  in  the  dark,  resolve  humbly  to  wait  on  him  and  com- 
mit yourself  to  him,  who  has  many  times  guided  the  blind 
in  a  way  they  knew  not. 

Direction   3.     When  any  fit  of   sickness  attacks  you,   think 
seriously  upon  death,  and  make  diligent  preparation  for  it. 

I  do  not  mean  that  any  man  may  delay  the  work  of 
preparation  for  death  till  sickness  cometh.  No,  no  ;  this 
should  be  the  great  and  absorbing  business  of  every  man  in 
the  time  of  his  health  and  strength.  But  sickness  and  dis- 
eases being  the  harbingers  of  death,  and  messengers  sent 
from  God  to  warn  us  of  its  coming,  every  man  is  thereby 
called  to  renew  the  work  of  preparation  for  death  with  all 
earnestness  and  application.  God's  voice  by  every  fit  of 
sickness  is  that  in  Deut.  32  :  29 :  "0  that  they  were  wise, 
that  they  understood  this,  that  they  would  consider  their 
latter  end."  God  knows  our  folly  arid  readiness  to  forget 
this  great  work  in  the  day  of  health ;  and  therefore,  in  his 
mercy,  he  sends  sickness  and  affliction  to  teach  us  so  to 
number  our  days  that  we  may  apply  our  hearts  to  this 
piece  of  heavenly  wisdom,  of  making  preparation  for  death. 
And  here  I  shall  present  some  motives  to  press  this  duty, 
and  some  advice  for  the  doing  of  it  aright. 


GENERAL   DIRECTIONS.  37 

1.  For  MOTIVES,  consider  these  things  : 

(1.)  Consider  God's  mercy  and  patience  towards  you,  in 
giving  you  so  many  warnings,  and  so  many  years  to  prepare 
for  death,  and  in  sending  his  messengers  and  warnings  so 
gently  and  gradually  to  excite  you  to  this  work,  when  many 
younger  and  stronger  than  you  are  hurried  into  eternity, 
and  little  or  no  time  given  them  to  think  where  they  are 
going.  Have  you  not  been  spared  many  years,  in  the  midst 
of  dangers,  while  you  have  seen  that  bold  archer,  death, 
shooting  his  arrows,  and  killing  thousands  of  your  neighbors 
and  friends  round  about  you  ?  Sometimes  the  arrow  hath 
glanced  over  your  head,  and  slain  some  great  man,  your 
superior  ;  sometimes  it  hath  alighted  at  your  feet,  and  cut 
off  a  child  or  a  servant,  your  inferior ;  sometimes  it  hath 
gone  by  on  your  left  hand,  and  killed  your  enemy  ;  at  other 
times  it  hath  passed  on  your  right  hand,  and  killed  your 
near  relations.  So  that  you  have  seen  friends  and  foes, 
superiors  and  inferiors,  relations  and  strangers,  dropping 
down  dead  around  you ;  and  all  this  f<5r  a  long  time,  to  give 
you  warning  to  prepare  for  death.  0  let  the  goodness  and 
forbearance  of  God  towards  you  lead  you  to  repentance, 
and  persuade  you  to  flee  speedily  to  Christ  for  refuge  and 
protection  from  wrath. 

(2.)  Consider  how  terrible  death  will  be  if  it  meet  you 
in  an  unprepared  state,  in  a  Christless  and  impenitent 
condition.  What  a  fearful  change  will  it  bring  upon  you ! 
A  change  from  earth  to  hell,  from  hope  to  despair,  from 
pleasure  to  pain,  from  comforts  to  terrors  ;  a  change  from 
the  offers  of  grace  to  the  revelation  of  wrath ;  a  change 
from  probabilities  to  utter  impossibilities  of  salvation. 
Death  will  cut  off  all  your  hopes  and  expectations  of  mercy 
for  ever.  Job  27  :  8.  There  is  no  coming  back  to  amend 
what  hath  been  done  amiss  here  ;  and  there  is  no  work  nor 
device  in  the  grave,  whither  you  go.  As  the  tree  falls,  so 
it  will  lie,  through  all  eternity. 


38  AFFLICTED  MAN'S   COMPANION. 

2.  I  come  now  to  give  some  advices,  in  order  to  the 
right  preparation  for  death, 

(1.)  ^et  about  self-examination  work.  Inquire  whether 
you  are  in  Christ  or  not — whether  you  are  yet  far  off  from 
God,  or  have  been  brought  near  by  the  blood  of  Jesus. 
And  see  that  you  be  impartial  in  this  search,  and  willing 
to  find  out  the  truth  on  this  important  question.  Be  not 
foolishly  tender  of  yourself,  and  apt  to  believe  that  you  are 
safe,  when  it  is  not  so  ;  for  in  this  way,  thousands  do  ruin 
themselves.  But  be  earnest  to  know  the  worst  of  your 
case,  and  thoroughly  to  understand  your  soul's  danger,  that 
you  may  be  moved  to  take  the  right  way  to  escape  it. 
Wherefore  take  a  view  of  the  marks  of  Christless  and 
unconverted  persons  laid  down  in  God's  word,  and  judge 
yourself  by  them ;  and  consider  also  the  signs  of  true  grace 
there  recorded,  and  see  whether  they  are  applicable  to  you 
or  not. 

(2.)  If>  after  inquiry,  you  find  your  state  is  bad — that  you 
have  been  a  lover  of  the  world  more  than  of  God,  have 
minded  your  body  more  than  your  soul,  have  lived  in  the 
neglect  of  precious  Christ,  and*  allowed  yourself  in  known 
sin,  0  then  be  convinced  of  your  inability  to  help  yourself, 
and  your  need  of  Christ  to  help  you.  Labor  to  be  deeply 
humbled  before  God,  under  a  sense  of  your  sin  and  folly. 
*'  Ah,  how  foolishly,  how  rebelliously,  how  unthankfully 
have  I  lived  !  I  have  abused  God's  mercies,  and  left  undone 
the  work  for  which  I  was  made  and  preserved,  and  enjoyed 
the  gospel.  Oh,  I  had  all  my  time  given  me,  to  make 
preparation  for  eternity,  and  I  have  never  minded  it  till 
now  that  sickness,  the  harbinger  of  death,  is  come  upon  me  ; 
and  now  what  shall  I  do  to  be  saved?"  Then,  in  order  to 
convince  and  humble  you  the  more,  cast  back  your  eyes 
upon  the  sins  of  your  nature,  and  of  your  past  life  ;  view 
them  in  their  nature,  number,  aggravations,  and  deservings. 
0,  do  not  so  many  years'  sins  need  a  very  deep  humiliation  ? 


GENERAL  DIRECTIONS.  39 

0,  do  you  not  stand  greatly  in  need  of  such  a  person  as 
Christ,  to  be  your  Saviour  and  Ransomer  from  such  a  vast 
number  of  sins  ?  0,  but  their  w^eight  will  press  you  eter- 
nally down  to  the  lowest  hell,  if  left  to  yourself  with  them 
upon  your  head. 

(3.)  0,  sinner,  art  thou  deeply  humbled,  and  desirous  of 
mercy  upon  any  terms  ?  Believe  then  that  thy  case  is  not 
remediless,  but  that  there  is  a  sacrifice  provided  for  your 
sins,  and  an  able  and  all-sufficient  Saviour  offered  to  you. 
Believe  that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Son  of  God,  and 
became  flesh  to  be  a  surety  for  you  ;  that  he  is  both  able 
and  willing  to  save  to  the  uttermost  all  that  come  unto  God 
by  him.  Though  your  sins,  your  danger,  and  your  fears 
were  never  so  great,  yet  he  is  able  and  willing  to  save.  0, 
flee  to  this  refuge  city,  whose  gates  are  open  to  receive  you. 
Trust  your  souls  upon  Christ's  sacrifice  and  meritorious 
blood  for  mercy  and  salvation.  Apply  humbly  to  him,  that 
he  may  teach  you  the  will  of  God,  reconcile  you  to  his 
Father,  pardon  your  sins,  renew  you  by  his  Spirit,  and  save 
you  from  eternal  wrath. 

(4.)  Give  yourself  up  to  God  in  Christ,  by  way  of  cove- 
nant and  solemn  resignation.  *  ^  Give  a  cordial  and  vol- 
untary consent  to  the  covenant  of  grace.  Acquiesce  cheer- 
fully in  the  gospel  way  of  salvation  through  Christ  and  his 
righteousness,  and  accept  of  God  in  Christ  as  thy  portion. 
Make  choice  of  God  the  Father,  as  thy  reconciled  Father  in 
Christ ;  and  God  the  Son,  as  thy  Redeemer  and  Saviour ; 
and  God  the  Holy  Ghost,  as  thy  sanctifier,  guide,  and  com- 
forter. And  likewise  give  up  thyself,  soul  and  body,  and 
all  that  thou  hast,  to  be  the  Lords;  engaging,  in  Christ's 
strength,  to  live  for  God,  and  walk  with  him  in  newness 
of  life.  And  study  to  do  all  this  deliberately,  unfeignedly, 
and  cheerfully.  Though  perhaps  you  have  done  this  hyp- 
ocritically, at  former  times ;  though  you  have  profaned 
God's  covenant,  and  behaved  unsteadfastly  and  perfidiously 


40  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

therein,  yet  now  endeavor  to  be  sincere  with  God  for 
once. 

(5.)  Live  daily  in  the  exercise  of  faith  and  repentance : 
renew  the  acts  thereof  frequently,  in  proportion  to  your 
renewed  sins  and  guiltiness.  Cleave  close  to  glorious  Christ, 
your  high-priest  and  surety,  and  be  ever  washing  in  his 
blood.  As  long  as  you  are  in  the  world,  you  will  have  need 
to  wash  your  feet.  John  13  :  10.  Come  death  when  it 
will,  let  it  find  you  at  the  fountain,  always  looking  to  and 
making  use- of  Jesus  Christ.  You  have  great  need  of  Christ 
every  day  of  your  life,  more  especially  in  sickness,  but  most 
of  all  at  a  dying  hour.  0  what  need  will  you  have  of 
Christ  as  an  advocate  with  God,  when  the  question  is  to  be 
determined  where  your  mansion  is  to  be  assigned  through 
all  eternity,  whether  in  heaven  or  hell.  0  then,  be  looking 
always  to  Christ,  with  the  eye  of  faith.  Live  in  the  constant 
thoughts  of  this  blessed  Mediator.  Let  him  be  first  in  your 
thoughts  in  the  morning,  and  last  in  your  thoughts  at 
night. 

(6.)  Strive  to  mortify  every  sin  and  lust,  both  outward 
and  inward.  Die  to  sin  daily,  that  so  you  may  not  die  for 
sin  eternally.  0  that  sin  may  be  daily  losing  its  strength 
and  dying  in  you,  so  that  it  may  be  certainly  dead  before 
you.  Pray  earnestly  that  your  sins  may  die  before  you  die ; 
for  if  they  die  not  before  you,  but  outlive  the  dying  body, 
they  will  live  eternally  to  sting  and  torment  the  never-dying 
soul. 

Direction  4.  Be  not  anxious  for  recovery  to  health,  but  leave 
the  issue  of  your  present  sickness  to  the  will  and  pleasure  of 
the  infinitely  wise  God. 

Remember,  0  man,  thou  art  the  clay  and  God  is  the 
potter  ;  he  is  absolute  Lord  of  thy  life  and  times  :  therefore 
learn  to  adore  his  sovereignty  over  thee  and  all  thy  enjoy- 
ments. David  did  so,  when  he  said,  "  Lord,  my  times  are 
in  thy  hand."     Psalm  31  :  15.     And  indeed  they  are  only 


GENERAL  DIEECTIONS.  41 

best  in  his  hand,  for  he  best  knows  how  to  dispose  of  them. 
The  prophet  saith,  "  The  Lord  is  a  God  of  judgment ;  blessed 
are  all  they  that  wait  for  him."  Isa.  30  :  18,  Judgment 
there  signifies  wisdom.  The  Lord  is  a  God  of  wisdom,  and 
will  order  and  time  all  things  well ;  and  therefore  it  becomes 
us  quietly  to  wait  for  his  pleasure,  saying,  "  The  will  of  the 
Lord  be  done."  It  is  taken  notice  of  as  a  great  sin  in  the 
Israelites,  that  they  waited  not  for  his  counsel,  but  limited 
the  Holy  One  of  Israel.  Psalm  78  :41.  What  an  unac- 
countable folly  and  presumption  is  it,  for  the  worms  of  the 
earth  to  seek  to  stint  and  limit  the  Sovereign  of  heaven  to 
their  measures  I  It  becomes  us  at  all  times,  but  especially 
in  sickness  and  affliction,  to  have  low,  submissive  thoughts 
of  ourselves,  and  high,  exalted  thoughts  of  God's  sovereignty, 
such  as  Nebuchadnezzar  had :  "  And  all  the  inhabitants  of  the 
earth  are  reputed  as  nothing ;  and  he  doeth  according  to  his 
will  in  the  army  of  heaven,  and  among  the  inhabitants  of  the 
earth :  and  none  can  stay  his  hand,  or  say  unto  him,  What 
doest  thou  ?"  Dan.  4  :  35.  We  should  therefore  refer  all  to 
his  wise  determination,  and  be  willing  to  die  or  Hve,  as  he 
shall  be  pleased  to  appoint.  I  remember  to  have  read  of  a 
godly  woman  who,  in  her  sickness,  being  asked  whether  she 
was  most  desirous  to  die  or  to  live ;  answered,  "  I  have  no 
choice  in  that  matter,  but  refer  myself  to  the  will  of  God.", 
"But,"  said  the  other,  "  suppose  God  should  refer  it  to  you 
whether  to  die  or  to  live;  which  would  you  choose?"  "If 
God,"  rephed  she,  "  should  refer  it  to  me,  I  would  even  refer 
it  back  again  to  him."  It  becomes  thee,  0  man,  to  be 
entirely  resigned  to  the  will  of  thy  Maker,  and  to  stand  like 
a  sentinel  in  thy  station,  ready  to  move  as  thy  great  Gene-"- 
ral  and  Commander  shall  give  order  concerning  thee.  It 
would  be  pleasant  and  acceptable  to  God,  to  see  thee  more 
desirous  to  be  delivered  from  sin,  than  from  sickness.  Sin 
is  a  far  worse  disease  than  any  sickness  in  the  world ;  beg 
importunately  that  the  great  Physician  may  cure  this  woful 


42  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION.     ^ 

soul-disease,  and  let  him  do  with  the  body  what  he  pleaseth. 
This  was  David's  practice  in  his  affliction  :  "  Look  upon 
my  affliction  and  my  pain,  and  forgive  all  my  sins."  Psa. 
25  :  18.%  As  for  his  pains  and  afflictions,  he  asks  no  more 
but  that  God  would  look  upon  them,  and  do  with  them  as 
he  thought  fit ;  but  as  for  his  sins,  no  less  will  satisfy  him 
than  a  pardon,  and  blotting  them  entirely  out,  so  that  they 
might  be  remembered  no  more. 

Direction  5.  Bind  yourself  with  holy  purposes  and  resolu- 
tions, in  Christ's  strength,  to  be  more  watchful  against  sin, 
more  diligent  in  duty,  and  to  improve  the  time  of  health  better, 
if  God  shall  be  pleased  to  restore  it  again  to  you. 

When  God  is  visiting  your  iniquities  with  rods,  and 
pleading  a  controversy  with  you  for  your  omissions  and 
slackness  in  duty,  he  expects  that  you  will  return  from 
your  backslidings,  and  set  about  a  serious  reformation  and 
change  of  life.  "  I  will  go,  and  return  to  my  place,  till  they 
acknowledge  their  offence,  and  seek  my  face:  in  their  afflic- 
tion they  will  seek  me  early."  Hosea  5:15.  See  then 
that  you  open  your  ear  to  discipline  ;  study  to  answer  God's 
call  and  expectation,  and  in  his  strength  resolve  to  enter 
upon  a  new  life.  "  Surely  now  it  is  meet  to  be  said  unto 
God,  I  have  borne  chastisement.  I  will  not  offend  any 
more.  That  which  I  see  not,  teach  thou  me;  if  I  have 
done  iniquity,  I  will  do  so  no  more."  Job  34  :  31,  32.  Now 
is  the  season  you  should  say  with  Ephraim,  "What  have  I 
to  do  any  more  with  idols  ?"     Hosea  14:8. 

Having  duly  examined  yourself,  and  searched  out  your 
sins,  you  ought  to  put  a  bill  of  divorce  into  the  hands  of 
every  one.  Deliberately  resolve  against  all  your  sins,  whether 
secret  or  open ;  and  especially  resolve  against  your  darling 
and  beloved  sins,  the  sins  which  do  most  easily  beset  you. 
Resolve  also  against  all  temptations  to  sin,  and  particularly 
against  the  snares  of  bad  company,  whereby  you  have  been 
formerly  enticed;  say  now  with  David,  "Depart  from  me, 


GENERAL    DIRECTIONS.  43 

ye  evil-doers  ;  for  I  will  keep  the  commandments  of  my 
God."     Psa.ll9:l]5. 

You  must  not  only  purpose  to  forsake  all  sin,  but  also  to 
mind  every  known  duty  ;  that  you  will  make  religion  your 
one  thing  needful,  and  the  pleasing  of  God  the  chief  busi- 
ness of  your  life ;  that  you  will  set  the  Lord  always  before 
you,  give  him  your  heart  in  all  duties,  aim  at  nearness  and 
communion  with  God  in  every  one  of  them,  and  press  forward 
to  the  full  enjoyment  of  God  in  heaven  through  eternity. 

Resolve  also,  through  grace,  that  you  will  in  a  special 
manner  mind  secret  duties,  which  the  eyes  of  men  do  not 
observe,  and  those  duties  which  conscience  doth  rnost  chal- 
lenge you  for  neglecting.  And  you  that  are  heads  of  families, 
resolve  to  make  more  conscience  of  family  retigion,  of  wor- 
shipping God  with  your  families,  both  morning  and  evening ; 
instructing  your  children  and  servants  in  the  knowledge  of 
Christ ;  and  recommending  religion  and  godliness  to  all  about 
you,  whether  relations  or  strangers. 

And  if  you  would  have  your  resolutions  effectual,  see  that 
they  be  accompanied  with  a  deep  sense  of  your  insufficiency 
to  perform  them  in  your  own  strength.  Bear  always  in  mind 
the  corruption  and  deceitfulness  of  your  own  heart,  and  make 
all  your  resolutions  in  humble  dependence  on  the  sufficiency 
of  Jesus  Christ  your  Surety.  Observe  the  apostle  Paul's 
advice  to  his  son  Timothy :  "  Be  strong  in  the  grace  that  is 
in  Christ  Jesus."  2  Tim.  2:1.  All  your  stock,  0  believer, 
is  in  his  hand,  so  that  without  him  you  can  do  nothing; 
but,  through  Christ  strengthening  you,  you  are  able  to  do 
all  things. 

Direction  6.  Set  your  house  in  order,  by  making  your  will, 
and  settling  your  domestic  and  secular  affairs,  while  you 
have  freedom  and  capacity  for  doing  it. 

After  the  heart  is  set  in  order,  the  next  work  is  to  set  your 
house  in  order,  according  to  God's  counsel  to  Hezekiah,  Isa. 


44  AFFLICTED  MAif'S   COMPANION. 

38:1.  It  is  recorded  of  the  patriarch  Abraham,  that  he  was 
careful  to  settle  the  affairs  of  his  family  before  his  death. 
Gen.  25:5,6.  He  disposed  of  his  estate,  to  Isaac,  and  leg- 
acies to  the  sons  of  his  concubines.  It  is  too  general  a  fault* 
that  men  delay  and  put  off' making  their  wills,  as  they  do 
their  repentance,  to  the  very  last,  and  so  too  frequently  never 
make  them  at  all.  Consider  the  evil  of  deferring  or  neglect- 
ing this  necessary  affair  ;  for  if  you,  upon  whom  God  hath 
bestowed  means,  shall  die  intestate,  your  estate  may  descend 
otherwise  than  you  intended ;  much  of  it  may  be  spent  in 
tedious  and  expensive  lawsuits ;  such  differences  may  fall 
out  among  relations,  who  should  live  in  friendship  and  mutual 
affection,  as  cannot  be.  healed ;  some  of  them  may  be  reduced 
to  extreme  -w^nt,  when  a  small  legacy  might  have  put  them 
in  the  way  of  a  living :  and  many  such  inconveniences  may 
follow.  Now,  if  your  neglect  should  bring  on  these  evils,  and 
involve  your  posterity  in  endless  strifes  and  contentions,  may 
you  not  justly  fear  that  the  guilt  thereof  will  pursue  you  into 
another  world,  whose  wretched  carelessness  was  the  occasion 
of  all  that  mischief? 

Pray,  what  is  the  reason  that  men  put  off*  this  duty  ?  Is 
it  not  because  they  do  not  incline  to  think  so  seriously  on  death, 
as  this  will  occasion  them  to  do  ?  Doth  not  this  neglect  savor 
of  abominable  earthly-mindedness,  as  if  a  man  desired  all  his 
portion  in  this  life,  and  cared  not  for  a  better ;  and  that  he 
is  so  far  from  preparing  for  death,  that  he  cannot  endure  to 
think  of  it  ?  Alas,  that  this  worldly  disposition  should  so  far 
prevail  among  us.  But  surely  there  is  no  wise  man  will  say 
that  the  putting  off'  the  thoughts  of  death  will  keep  death  at 
the  greater  distance ;  or  that  preparing  for  death  and  making 
our  wills  will  bring  on  death  the  sooner. 

It  were  surely  best  to  arrange  our  affairs  in  good  time ; 
yea,  do  it  in  time  of  health,  rather  than  delay  it  unto  a  sick- 
bed, or  a  death-bed  ;  for  either  you  may  be  snatched  off" 
suddenly,  and  have  no  time  for  it;  or  you  may  be  taken 


GENERAL  DIRECTIONS. 


45 


with  such  a  disease  as  shall  seize  your  tongue,  so  that  you 
cannot  express  your  mind;  or  seize  your  understanding,  so 
that  you  cannot  rationally  dispose  of  your  effects.  And  though 
none  of  these  should  happen,  yet  certainly  it  proves  a  great 
disturbance  to  a  dying  man,  to  be  casting  up,  ordering,  and 
settling  the  affairs  of  his  family,  when  he  should  be  securing 
a  heavenly  mansion  for  his  soul  and  clearing  up  his  evidences 
thereto.  It  is  great  wisdom  to  attend  to  this  affair  in  time, 
that  you  may  have  as  little  to  do  with  the  world  as  may  be, 
and  that  all  occasions  of  distraction  to  your  immortal  soul 
may  be  prevented,  when  it  is  near  to  its  entering  into  an 
eternal  and  unchangeable  state. 

Moreover,  in  settling  your  secular  affairs,  observe  these 
following  ADVICES : 

1 .  Make  your  wills  cheerfully,  and  freely  lay  down  what- 
ever you  enjoy,  when  God  calls  you  to  it.  Praise  God  that 
you  had  these  things  while  you  needed  them ;  and  when  you 
have  no  longer  use  for  them,  leave  them  without  repining  to 
those  that  come  after  you.  Look  not  back  to  Egypt,  when 
you  are  upon  the  border  of  Canaan. 

2.  See  that  you  deal  justly,  in  providing  for  your  family, 
paying  all  your  just  debts,  and  making  restitution  if  you 
have  wronged  any.  Abhor  all  designs  of  defrauding  any  of 
your  lawful  Creditors,  for  if  your  last  act  should  be  unjust, 
you  leave  a  blot  upon  your  name  here ;  and  since  you  cannot 
repent  of  this  wickedness,  it  being  among  your  last  deeds,  you 
expose  yourself  to  a  fearful  doom  in  the  world  whither  you 
are  going. 

3 .  In  settling  your  estate,  see  that  God  and  good  uses  be 
not  forgotten  nor  left  out.  When  you  are  leaving  the  world, 
and  can  glorify  God  no  longer  here  by  your  words  or  actions, 
see  that  you  honor  the  Lord  with  your  substance,  by  leaving 
some  part  thereof  to  pious  and  charitable  uses.  It  is  a  work 
of  charity  to  give  for  maintaining  the  bodies  of  the  poor,  and 
especially  the  poor  of  God's  people,  who  belong  to  his  family. 


46  AFFLICTED  MAN'S   COMPANION. 

But  it  is  much  more  pious  and  charitable  to  leave  some- 
what for  propagating  Christian  knowledge  in  dark  places, 
for  educating  poor  children  to  read  the  Scriptures,  and  in- 
structing ignorant  souls  in  the  knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ. 
It  is  much  to  be  lamented  that  so  many  rich  men 
among  us  die,  and  leave  but  little  to  such  pious  uses. 
The  liberahty  of  papists  on  their  death-beds,  may  give  a 
sharp  challenge  to  many  professed  Protestants.  0  what  a 
shame  it  is  to  the  professors  of  the  doctrine  of  grace,  that 
the  false  doctrines  of  merit  and  purgatory  should  produce  so 
many  donations  and  mortifications  among  the  papists,  and 
the  faith  of  Chri.st's  most  glorious  gospel  should  not  do  the 
like  among  true  believers  I  Shall  the  prpud  conceit  of  merit, 
and  the  imaginary  fear  of  purgatory,  prompt  men  to  do  more 
this  Avay,  than  the  certain  persuasion  of  the  love  of  God  in 
Christ,  and  the  well-grounded  hope  of  eternal  life  through 
the  alone  merits  of  Jesus  Christ?  0  -w^hat  a  reproach  is 
this  to  our  holy  religion  I 

•  4.  It  might  be  much  to  the  glory  of  God  and  the  good  of 
souls,  that  our  wills  should  contain  many  solemn  charges  and 
exhortations  and  blessings  to  our  children,  or  those  to  whom 
we  bequeath  any  legacy ;  so  that  they  could  never  open  our 
wills,  but  they  might  see  something  adapted  to  make  imjpres- 
sions  on  their  souls, ,  fdr  their  spiritual  edification,  and  for 
quickening  them  to  the  diligent  practice  of  both  family  and 
personal  godliness. 


PARTICULAE.  DIRECTIONS.  47 

V    CHAPTER   II. 

PAETICULAU  DIRECTIONS  TO  THOSE  WHO  ARE  SHARPLY 
AFFLICTED  WITH  SICKP^SS,  OR  LONG  TROUBLE. 

Direction  1 .     Justify  God  in  the  greatest  afflictions  which  befaU 
you. 

Though  God  should  condemn  you,  see  that  you  acquit 
him,  and  say  he  is  righteous  in  all  his  dealings.  When  the 
church  was  under  the  heaviest  distress,  she  found  cause  to 
justify  God.  "The  Lord  is  righteous,  for  I  have  rebelled 
against  his  commandment."  Lam.  1  :  18.  So  doth  godly 
Nehemiah:  "Howbeit  thou  art  just  in  all  that  is  brought 
upon  us  ;  for  thou  hast  done  right,  but  we  have  done  wick- 
edly." Neh.  9  :  33.  The  same  doth  holy  David  acknow- 
ledge: "I  know,  0  Lord,  that  thy  judgments  are  right,  and 
that  in  faithfulness  thou  hast  afflicted  me."  Psa.  119  :  75. 
Now,  in  order  to  bring  you  to  this  agreeable  frame,  and  to 
convince  you  of  the  equity  and  justice  of  God  in  his  dispen- 
sations, however  heavy  and  long  your  distress  be,  I  shall  lay 
before  you  the  following  considerations. 

1.  Consider  the  infinitely  holy  and  righteous  nature  of 
that  God  who  smiteth  thee.  **  Righteous  art  thou,  0  Lord, 
and  upright  are  thy  judgments."  Psa.  129  :  137.  We  pre- 
sume it  of  a  righteous  man,  that  he  will  do  righteous  things ; 
and  shall  we  not  much  more  believe  so  of  a  holy  and  righteous 
God  ?  We  cannot  be  infallibly  certain  that  a  righteous  man 
will  always  do  so,  because  a  righteous  man  may  leave  his 
righteousness,  for  the  creature  is  mutable :  but  God  is  immu- 
tably righteous ;  so  that  we  may  be  confident  that  the  Judge 
of  all  the  earth  will  do  right,  for  it  is  impossible  he  can  do 
otherwise.  "  The  just  Lord  is  in  the  midst  thereof;  he  will 
not  do  iniquity."  Zeph.  3  :  5.  He  will  not,  he  cannot ;  for 
it  is  contrary  to  his  nature. 

2.  Consider  that  God  never  brings  on   any  affliction 


48  AFFLICTED    MAN'S    COMPANION. 

without  a  cause.  "For  this  cause  many  are  sick."  1  Cor. 
11:30.  He  hath  just  ground  for  the  heaviest  affliction,  from 
thy  sins  and  provocations,  and  may  always  say  to  thee,  as  to 
Israel,  "  Hast  thou  not  procured  this  unto  thyself,  in  that  thou 
hast  forsaken  the  Lord  thy  God,  when  he  led  thee  by  the 
way?  Thine  own  wickedness  shall  correct  thee,  and  thy 
backslidings  shall  reprove  thee  ;  know  therefore  and  see  that 
it  is  an  evil  thing  and  bitter,  that  thou  hast  forsaken  the  Lord." 
Jer.  2  :  17,  19.  There  instill  ground  enough  for  affliction  to 
be  found  in  the  best  of  God's  people  ;  and  therefore  it  is  said, 
"He  doth  not  afflict  wilHngly,  nor  grieve  the  children  of 
men."  Lam.  3  :  33,  No,  it  is  our  sins  that  oblige  him  to  it. 
As  Christ  whipped  the  sellers  of  oxen  and  sheep  out  of  the 
temple,  with  a  whip,  as  is  generally  thought,  made  of  their 
own  cords  ;  so  God  never  scourgeth  us  but  with  a  whip  made 
of  our  own  sins.  "  His  own  iniquities  shall  take  the  wicked 
himself,  and  he  shall  be  holden  with  the  cords  of  his  sins." 
Prov.  5  :  22.  If  we  consider  the  mighty  God  as  a  Lord  dis- 
pensing grace,  then  we  find  he  acts  sovereignly,  and  accord- 
ing to  his  will  and  pleasure.  "  Even  so.  Father,  for  so  it 
seemed  good  in  thy  sight."  Matt.  11  :  26.  But  if  we  con- 
sider him  as  a  Judge  dispensing  judgments,  he  never  doth 
it  without  a  previous  cause  on  the  creature's  part.  God's 
treasure  of  mercy  is  always  fuU,  and  ready  to  be  let  out  to 
them  that  seek  it;  but  his  treasure  of  wrath  is  empty  till 
men  fill  it  by  their  sins.  "  Thou  treasurest  up  unto  thyself 
wrath  against  the  day  of  wrath."  Rom.  2:5.  We  always 
provide  fuel  for  God's  wrath  before  it  kindles  and  breaks  out 
upon  us. 

3.  Consider  farther  this  instance  of  God's  equity,  that 
when  there  is  a  cause  given,  God  doth  not  instantly  punish, 
but  continues  to  threaten  oft  and  warn  long,  before  he  exe- 
cutes the  sentence  of  his  word.  He  sends  light  strokes  as 
warnings  of  heavier,  if  we  repent  not ;  and  he  repeats  his 
warnings  many  times,  both  by  his  word  and  providence. 


PARTICULAR  DIRECTIONS.  49 

before  he  smites.  Yea,  even  when  repeated  warnings  are 
slighted,  he  delays  a  long  time,  and  waits  to  be  gracious. 
Tsa.  30  :  18.  And  when  men's  obstinacy  and  incorrigible- 
ness  arrive  to  such  a  height  that  he  can  spare  no  longer,  yet 
how  loath  is  he  to  give  them  up  to  severe  judgments.  "  How 
shall  I  give  thee  up,  Ephraim  ?  How  shall  I  deliver  thee, 
Israel  ?  How  shall  I  make  thee  as  A  dm  ah  ?  How  shall  I 
set  thee  as  Zeboim  ?  Mine  heart  is  turned  within  me,  my 
repentings  are  kindled  together."  Hos.  11  :  8.  When  the 
Lord  hath  sinners  in  his  hand,  ready  to  give  them  up  to 
severe  judgments,  yet  he  makes  a  stand  and  would  fain  be 
prevented  before  he  proceed  to  his  "strange  work;"  for  so 
he  calls  his  acts  of  judgment.  Isa.  28  :  21.  Acts  of  mercy 
are  conatural,  most  agreeable,  and  pleasant  to  God.  "  He 
delighteth  in  mercy,"  Micah  7  :  18;  but  judgment  is  his 
strange  act,  and  his  strange  work. 

4.  Consider,  that  when  at  last  he  sends  strokes  on  us,  they 
are  always  short  of  the  cause  ;  he  exacts  not  the  debt  that 
sinners  owe  to  his  justice,  as  Ezra  doth  acknowledge  :  ''  Thou 
hast  punished  us  less  than  our  iniquities  deserve."  Ezra 
9:13.  The  stroke  he  there  is  speaking  of,  was  a  most  heavy 
judgment :  fearful  ruin  and  desolation  came  upon  Jerusalem 
and  the  whole  land  of  Judah;  the  city  and  temple  were 
burnt  to  ashes,  the  people  carried  captive  to  a  strangp  land 
and  treated  as  bondslaves  among  the  heathen ;  yet  the  holy 
man  saith,  "  Thou  hast  punished  us  less  than  our  iniquities 
deserve."  As  if  he  had  said,  "It  is  true  we  have  been  car- 
ried to  Babylon,  but  in  justice  we  might  have  been  sent  to 
hell ;  our  houses  were  burnt,  but  our  bodies  might  have  been 
burnt  too ;  we  have  been  drinking  water,  but  we  might  have 
been  drinking  blood ;  we  have  had  grievous  burdens  on  earth, 
but  we  might  have  been  groaning  in  hell ;  we  were  banished 
from  the  temple,  but  we  might  have  been  eternally  banished 
from  God's  presence."  We  think  it  a  great  favor  among 
men  when  any  punishment  is  mitigated,  when  the  sentence 

AS.  Man's  Comp.  3 


50  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

of  death  is  changed  into  banishment,  or  when  banishment  is 
turned  into  a  fine,  or  a  great  fine  is  made  smaller;  and  will 
you  think  that  God  deals  severely  or  rigorously  with  you  in 
laying  you  on  a  sick  bed,  when  he  might  justly  have  laid  you 
in  hell  and  poured  out  all  his  wrath  upon  you  there  ?  You 
but  taste  of  the  brim  of  the  cup,  when  God  might  cause  you 
to  drink  of  the  very  dregs  thereof 

Have  you  not  cause  then  to  acknowledge  God's  justice, 
nay,  even  his  mercy  too,  in  his  dealings  with  you,  however 
rough  they  seem  to  be  ?  May  you  not  with  good  reason  say, 
Any  thing  less  than  hell  is  a  mercy  to  such  an  ill-deserving 
creature  as  I  am  ?  If  even  a  hard-hearted  Pharaoh,  under 
distress,  went  so  far  as  to  own  the  justice  of  God,  "I  have 
sinned,  the  Lord  is  righteous,"  Exod.  9  :  27  ;  shall  any  pro- 
fessed Christian  fall  short  of  that  obstinate  Egyptian? 

Direction  2.     Labor  to  be  sensible  of  God's  hand  under  heavy 
affliction^  and  beware  of  stupidity  and  unconcern  under  it. 

It  is  a  sin  to  faint  under  heavy  affliction,  but  it  is  a  duty 
to  feel  it.  "My  son,  despise  not  thou  the  chastening  of  the 
Lord,  nor  faint  when  thou  art  rebuked  of  him."  Heb.  12  :  5. 
The  apostle  there  cautions  us  against  two  extremes,  which 
every  Christian  under  the  rod  should  be  careful  to  avoid  : 
these  are,  despising  or  making  light  of  affliction,  and  sinking 
or  desponding  under  it.  We  are  in  great  hazard  of  running 
unto  the  one  or  the  other.  We  may  be  said  to  despise  the 
chastening  of  the  Lord  when  we  do  not  observe  God's  hand 
in  our  affliction,  so  as  to  abandon  the  things  whereby  he  is 
displeased  ;  or  when  we  resolve  to  abide  the  trial  by  the 
strength  of  our  own  resolution  and  stout-heartedness,  without 
looking  to  God  for  supporting  grace ;  or  when  we  turn  stupid 
and  insensible  under  the  heavy  and  long-continued  rod.  This 
despising  and  slighting  of  the  rod  is  not  patience,  but  stupid- 
ity ;  it  is  not  Christian  magnanimity,  but  a  stoical  temper  of 
mind,  most  sinful  and  provoking  to  God,  We  see  how  angry 
God  is  with  sinners  when  his  strokes  are  not  felt.  "  He  hath 


PARTICULAR   DIRECTIONS.  51 

poured  upon  him  the  fury  of  his  anger,  and  it  hath  set  him 
on  fire  round  about,  yet  he  knew  it  not ;  and  it  hath  burned 
him,  yet  he  laid  it  not  to  heart."  Isa.  42  :  25.  "  Thou 
hast  stricken  them,  but  they  have  not  grieved;  thou  hast 
consumed  them,  but  they  have  refused  to  receive  correction : 
they  have  made  their  faces  harder  than  a  rock ;  they  have 
refused  to  return."  Jer.  5:3.  There  is  little  hope  of  a 
scholar's  minding  his  lesson,  that  is  regardless  of  whipping. 
It  is  a  dreadful  sign  to  be  like  Pharaoh,  sleeping  in  our  sins 
when  God  is  thundering  in  his  wrath.  He  that  will  sleep 
when  his  house  is  on  fire,  or  lie  still  in  bed,  as  if  he  was  not 
concerned,  may  assuredly  expect  to  be  consumed  in  its  flames. 
As  David  could  not  bear  it,  when  the  messengers  he  sent  to 
the  Ammonites  out  of  good  will,  were  afironted  and  despised ; 
neither  will  God  endure  it,  when  the  messengers  he  sends  to 
sinners  are  slighted  ;  for  he  that  slights  a  messenger,  affronts 
his  master.  Those  who  make  light  of  affliction,  make  light 
of  God  who  sends  it,  and  of  sin  that  procures  it. 

Men  are  suitably  concerned  under  a  heavy  rod,  when  they 
see  God's  hand,  hear  God's  voice,  are  anxious  to  know  his 
mind,  desirous  to  do  those  things  he  requires,  and  forsake 
those  things  he  is  displeased  with.  Remember,  every  afflic- 
tion is  a  messenger  from  God,  and  deserves  a  hearing  from 
you.  It  comes  to  thee  with  such  a  message  as  Ehud  did  to 
Eglon :  "I  have  a  message  from  God  unto  thee,  0  king." 
Judges  3  :  20.  I  have  a  message  from  God  to  thee,  0  Chris- 
tian, 0  sinner.  Well,  lend  an  ear,  and  hearken  with  rever- 
ence and  attention  to  this  errand  :  say,  "  Speak,  Lord,  for 
thy  servant  heareth ;  what  wouldst  thou  have  me  do  ?", 
Believe  it  that  God  speaks  as  really  to  you  by  his  rod,  as  by 
his  word;  therefore  he  says,  "Hear  ye  the  rod."  God  spake 
as  truly  by  his  ten  plagues  to  Egypt,  as  he  did  by  his  ten 
precepts  to  Israel.  And  if  the  calm  voice  of  the  word  were 
more  regarded,  we  should  hear  less  of  the  rough  voice  of  the 
rod.     As  Gideon  took  briers  and  thorns  of  the  wilderness, 


52  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

and  with  them  taught  the  men  of  Succoth,  who  would  not 
be  taught  by  fairer  means,  Judges  8:16;  so  God  takes  the 
sharp  prickles  of  sore  afflictions  to  teach  you  his  statutes, 
when  you  will  not  be  taught  by  softer  methods.  Beware 
then  of  grieving  God's  Spirit,  by  turning  stupid  and  insen- 
sible under  sharp  or  long- continued  trials;  but  the  more  pains 
God  takes  with  you  by  his  rod,  hearken  the  more  carefully 
to  his  voice,  and  labor  to  make  the  greater  proficiency  in  the 
school  of  affliction,  where  he  thinks  fit  to  continue  you,  that 
SQ  you  may  inherit  this  blessing :  "  Ble^ed  is  the  man  whom 
"thou  ehastenest,  0  Lord,  and  teachest  him  out  of  thy  law." 
Psa.  94:  12. 

Direction  3.  Beware  of  misconstruing  God's  dealings  towards 
you,  and  of  charging  him  foolishly. 
We  are  apt  to  believe  Satan's  suggestions  under  heavy 
trials,  and  to  entertain  wrong  thoughts  of  God  and  his  dis- 
pensations. Now  these  you  ought  to  guard  against.  For 
instance, 

1 .  Beware  of  harboring  atheistical  thoughts,  as  if  there 
were  no  Providence,  no  vdse  Governor  of  this  lower  world, 
no  distinction  between  the  good  and  the  bad ;  and  that  it  is 
to  no  purpose  to  be  religious,  like  those  mentioned  in  Mai. 
3  :  14  :  "  Ye  have  said.  It  is  vain  to  serve  God;  and  what 
profit  is  it  that  we  have  kept  his  ordinances,  and  walked 
mournfully  before  the  Lord  of  hosts  ?"  Yea,  even  the 
psalmist,  when  he  begins  to  compare  his  own  sharp  trials 
with  the  ease  and  prosperity  of  the  wicked,  is  tempted  to 
think  all  religion  in  vain,  and  say,  "Yerily  I  have  cleansed 
my  heart  in  vain,  and  washed  my  hands  in  innocency.  For 
all  the  day  long  have  I  been  plagued,  and  chastened  every 
morning."  Psa.  73:  13,  14.  But  these  are  nothing  but  the 
hellish  suggestions  of  Satan,  that  irreconcilable  enemy  of  Gud 
and  precious  souls,  against  which  we  should  closely  stop  oiir 
ears. 

2.  Beware  of  charging  God  in  your  hearts  with  rigor  or 


PARTICULAR  DIRECTIONS.  53 

injustice  in  his  dealings,  like  those  reproved  in  Ezek.  18  :  25: 
"Yet  ye  say,  The  way  of  the  Lord  is  not  equal."  How 
highly  unjust  and  injurious  are  such  thoughts  to  him  who  is 
the  Judge  of  all  the  earth,  and  cannot  but  do  right  I 

3.  Beware  of  thinking  that  heavy  afflictions  always 
speak  wrath  in  Grod  against  thee.  No ;  sometimes  they 
speak  forth  love,  and  God  may  be  carrying  on  a  love-design 
thereby  to  thy  soul,  namely,  to  subdue  thy  strong  lusts,  and 
draw  thee  nearer  unto  himself  As  for  those  who  think  that 
the  smarting  rod  and  divine  love  cannot  dwell  together,  let 
them  read  that  passage,  "  And  ye  have  forgotten  the  exhor- 
tation that  speaketh  unto  you  as  unto  children.  My  son, 
despise  not  thou  the  chastening  of  the  Lord,  nor  faint  when 
thou  art  rebuked  of  him.  For  whom  the  Lord  loveth  he 
chasteneth,  and  scourgeth  every  son  whom  he  receiveth." 
Heb.  12:5,6. 

4.  Beware  of  desponding  and  distrustful  thoughts  of 
God,  under  sharp  afflictions.  Some  are  ready  to  raze  the 
foundation,  quit  their  interest  in  God  and  the  promises,  and 
cast  away  their  hope  and  confidence,  saying  with  Gideon, 
"  Oh,  my  Lord,  if  the  Lord  be  with  us,  why  then  has  all  this 
evil  befallen  us  ?"  Judges  6:13.  So  David  was  ready  to 
draw  a  hasty  conclusion :  "I  said  in  my  haste,  I  am  out  off 
from  before  thine  eyes."  Psahn  31 :  22.  But  this  was  the 
effect  of  unbelief;  for  he  that  belie veth  will  not  make 
haste. 

Direction  4.  Under  sore  trouble  and  distress,  labor  to  exercise 
a  strong  and  lively  faith. 
It  was  a  noble  and  heroic  resolution  in  that  holy  man 
Job,  under  his  singular  trials,  "Though  he  slay  me,  yet  I 
will  trust  in  him."  Job  13  :  15.  Let  his  strokes  be  never 
so  sore  and  heavy,  yet  I  will  not  let  go  my  hold  of  his  word 
and  promises  ;  I  will  not  raze  these  foundations  of  my  hope. 
It  was  in  this  way  the  psalmist  kept  himself  from  sinking 
under  his  heavy  burdens:   "I   had  fainted  unless  I  had 


54  AFFLICTED  MAN'S   COMPANION. 

believed  to  see  the  goodness  of  the  Lord  in  the  land  of  the 
living."  Psa.  27  :  13.  Consider  hut  a  little  the  noble  influ- 
ence that  faith  hath  to  strengthen  and  support  the  soul 
under  sore  trials : 

1.  Faith  grasps  the  great  gospel  promise  of  salvation  in 
and  through  Jesus  Christ,  and  so  secures  the  soul's  main 
interest  through  eternity ;  which  may  make  the  soul  happy 
in  every  lot. 

2.  Faith  views  God  in  Christ  at  the  helm  in  the  great- 
est storm,  and  so  the  believer  endures  "  as  seeing  Him  who 
is  invisible."     Heb.  11  :  27. 

3.  Faith  casts  the  soul's  anchor  on  the  Rock  of  ages,  and 
stays  itself  on  God  and  the  faithful  promises,  whereby  the 
soul  is  eased  and  disburdened  of  its  fears  and  melancholy 
apprehensions.     Psa.  22  :  4;  Isa,  50  :  10. 

4.  Faith  brings  new  strength  and  auxiliary  supplies  of 
grace  from  heaven,  when  the  former  supply  is  exhausted  and 
spent ;  whereof  David  had  the  sweet  experience.  Psa.  27  :  13 
As  God  doth  plant  and  actuate  grace  in  the  soul,  so  he  is 
pleased  to  come  in  with  seasonable  supplies  and  reinforce- 
ments to  the  weak  and  decayed  graces  of  his  people,  accord- 
ing to  their  present  exigencies ;  and  thus  he  doth  from  time 
to  time  feed  the  believer's  lamp  with  fresh  oil,  Jbestowing 
more  faith,  more  love,  more  hope,  and  more  desire  ;  and 
hereby  he  gives  more  power  to  the  faint,  and  strengthens 
the  things  which  remain,  when  ready  to  die. 

5.  Faith  keeps  the  soul  from  sinking  under  heavy  trials, 
by  bringing  in  former  experiences  of  the  power,  mercy,  and 
faithfulness  of  God  to  the  afflicted  soul ;  hereby  was  the 
psalmist  supported  in  distress.  Psa.  13  :  6  ;  87  :  4.  0,  saith 
faith,  remember  what  God  hath  done  both  for  thy  outward 
and  inward  man ;  he  hath  not  only  delivered  thy  body  when 
in  trouble,  but  he  hath  done  great  things  for  thy  soul :  he 
hath  brought  thee  out  of  the  state  of  black  nature,  entered 
into  a  covenant-relation  with  thee,  and  made  his  goodness 


PARTICULAR   DIRECTIONS.  55 

pass  before  thee ;  he  hath  helped  thee  to  pray,  and  many 
times  hath  he  heard  thy  prayers  and  thy  tears.  Hath  he 
not  formerly  brought  thee  out  of  the  horrible  pit  and  out  of 
the  miry  clay,  and  put  a  new  song  in  thy  mouth,  and  made 
thee  resolve  never  to  give  M^ay  to  such  unbelieving  doubts 
and  fears  again  ?  And  how  unbecoming  it  is  for  thee  now 
to  sink  in  trouble. 

6.  Faith  supports  the  soul,  by  giving  it  a  pleasant  view 
and  prospect  of  a  happy  release  from  all  trouble,  when  it 
shall  be  admitted  to  see  and  dwell  with  Christ  hereafter. 
Thus  was  Job  supported  in  his  greatest  distress.  "  For  I 
know  that  rhy  Redeemer  Uveth,  and  that  he  shall  stand  in 
the  latter  day  upon  the  earth :  whom  I  shall  see  for  myself, 
and  mine  eyes  shall  behold."  Job  19  :  25,  27.  A  believing 
view  of  the  soul's  meeting  with  its  Redeemer,  and  receiv- 
ing a  crown  of  glory  from  him  at  last,  is  an  excellent  support 
to  a  Christian  under  the  heaviest  affliction ;  and  so  was  it  to 
Paul.     2  Tim.  4:7,8. 

7.  Faith  gives  great  support,  by  the  encouraging  repre- 
sentations it  makes  of  Christ,  and  of  his  present  concern  for 
the  believer  while  under  affliction.     For  example, 

Faith  represents  Christ  to  a  believer  under  trials,  as 
sympathizing  with  him  under  his  distress,  feeling  his  pain, 
hearing  his  groans,  bearing  his  burdens,  and  ready  to  relieve 
him  in  his  own  appointed  time,  which  it  well  becometh  him 
to  wait  for. 

Faith  represents  Christ  as  putting  his  almighty  arm 
under  the  believer's  head,  and  conveying  invisible  strength 
to  support  and  hold  him  up  under  his  greatest  burdens. 

Faith  represents  Christ  as  pleading  the  afflicted  believ- 
er's cause  with  God,  and  answering  all  the  charges  of  the 
law,  the  challenges  of  conscience,  and  accusations  of  Satan 
against  him. 

Faith  represents  Christ  as  standing  by  the  furnace,'  as  a 
refiner  where  his  gold  is  melting,  carefully  overseeing  the 


56  AFJ"LICTED    MAN'S    COMPANION. 

trials  of  his  people,  that  they  may  work  for  their  good,  and 
ready  to  bring  them  out  thereof,  when  they  are  sufficiently 
purified  from  their  dross. 

Faith  represents  Christ  as  smiling  on  his  people  under 
the  cross,  whispering  peace  into  their  ears,  and  saying, 
"Well  done,  good  and  faithful  servant." 

Direction  5.     Labor  to  bear  with  patience  whatever  load  of 
trouble  the  Lord  appoints  for  you. 

You  will  perhaps  observe  some  who  are  strangers  to  relig- 
ion, contentedly  enduring  very  painful  evils;  and  this  they 
may  do  by  virtue  of  a  natural  hardness  and  resolution  which 
some  are  endowed  with,  or  by  the  aid  of  arguments  furnish- 
ed by  human  prudence.  This  is  only  patience  as  a  moral 
virtue,  which  some  attain  to.  But  it  is  patience  as  a  spiritual 
grace,  or  a  fruit  of  the  Spirit,  which  we  must  aim  at  under 
our  trials,  that  we  may  bear  them  contentedly  from  divine 
principles,  to  divine  ends.  Now  this  grace  of  patience  we 
must  earnestly  beg  from  God,  under  heavy  afflictions,  for  it 
is  only  he  that  must  work  it  in  us ;  and  therefore  he  is  called 
the  God  of  patience.  Rom.  15:5.  And  in  order  to  your 
attaining  of  this  grace,  I  shall  lay  before  you  the  following 
considerations,  which  may  be  useful,  through  the  Lord's 
blessing,  for  that  end. 

1.  Consider  the  patience  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  under 
sufferings  inexpressibly  greater  than  yours.  When  it  pleased 
the  Lord  to  bruise  him  and  to  put  him  to  grief,  how  patiently 
did  he  bear  all,  according  to  that  remarkable  word,  "  He  was 
oppressed,  and  he  was  afflicted,  yet  he  opened  not  his  mouth  j 
he  is  brought  as  a  lamb  to  the  slaughter,  and  as  a  sheep 
before  her  shearers  is  dumb,  so  he  opened  not  his  mouth." 
Isa.  53  :  7.  Now  Christ  suffered  as  an  example  of  patience, 
though  it  was  not  his  chief  end;  and  surely  all  the  members 
of  the  body  should  study  to  imitate  the  head  in  patience. 
Did  your  blessed  Saviour  patiently  endure  such  agonies  and 


PARTICULAR  DIRECTIONS.  57 

burdens  of  wrath  for  you ;  and  will  you  decline  to  undergo 
some  short  pains  or  sickness  in  obedience  to  his  command  ? 

2.  Consider  God's  sovereignty  over  you.  He  is  the  great 
Potter,  and  you  are  his  clay ;  and  why  may  he  not  do  with 
you  as  he  pleaseth  ?  If  your  children  offend  you,  you  punish 
them,  and  perhaps  do  it  soAietimes  without  reason ;  yet  how 
ill  do  you  take  it  when  they  refuse  to  submit.  How  will  you 
drive  and  spur  your  horses  under  you,  and  sometimes  perhaps 
unreasonably.  Yet  they  bear  all  quietly,  and  make  no  re- 
sistance. Shall  they  take  blows  from  their  master,  and  will 
not  you  from  your  Maker,  that  has  far  more  power  over  you  ? 
If  any  challenge  you  for  cruelty  to  your  children  or.  beasts, 
you  take  it  not  well,  because  you  think  you  may  do  what  you 
will  with  your  own  and  no  man  hath  a  right  to  quarrel  with 
you.  But  hath  not  God  a  greater  property  in  you,  than  you 
in  your  children  or  cattle  ?  And  will  you  not  patiently  sub- 
mit to  your  wise  and  absolute  Sovereign  ? 

3.  Consider  thy  sins  as  the  just  cause  of  all  thy  afflictions, 
however  heavy  they  be.  If  thou  hast  right  thoughts  of  thy 
sins,  and  their  aggravations,  thy  mind  may  be  composed  to 
a  patient  submission  to  God's  hand  ;  if  sin  be  heavy  on  thee, 
•all  thy  afflictions  will  be  light.  Luther  gives  this  as  a  rea- 
son why  he  slighted  the  rage  of  the  pope  and  emperor,  and 
all  his  outward  troubles :  "They  are  all  httle  to  me,  because 
sin  is  so  weighty  on  me."  Hence  it  was  that  Paul  com- 
plained not  at  all  of  his  sufferings,  great  as  they  were,  but 
he  cried  out  much  of  his  sins  :  "  0  wretched  man  that  I  am, 
who  shall  deliver  me  from  the  body  of  this  death?"  Rom. 
7  :  24.  The  sense  of  sin  doth  swallow  up  the  sense  of 
affliction,  as  the  ocean  doth  little  brooks.  For  with  whom 
shouldst  thou  quarrel  but  thyself,  when  thou  bringest 
troubles  on  thyself?  This  consideration  should  bring  thee 
to  resolve  and  say  with  the  prophet,  "  I  will  bear  the  indig- 
nation of  the  Lord,  because  I  have  sinned  against  him," 
Micah7:9. 

3* 


58  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

4.  Consider,  that  however  sharp  the  pains  are  you  are 
called  to  bear,  yet  they  fall  infinitely  short  of  what  you 
have  justly  deserved  at  God's  hands.  It  is  of  his  infinite 
mercy  that  death  and  everlasting  destruction  have  not  been 
your  portion  long  since,  and  that  you  are  not  now  wail- 
ing under  the  extremity  of  his  indignation  in  the  bottomless 
pit,  together  with  the  devil  and  his  angels.  And  conse- 
quently, whatever  falls  short  of  this  is  truly  a  great  mercy, 
and  is  so  far  from  being  a  ground  of  quarrelling,  that  the 
greatest  sufferer  on  this  side  of  hell  hath  just  cause  to 
admire  God's  clemency,  in  dealing  more  favorably  with  him 
than  he  hath  deserved. 

5.  Compare  thy  case  with  others  that  have  been,  or  now 
are  in  distress.  Do  not  say  there  is  no  one  so  hardly  dealt 
with  as  thou  art,  for  thou  knowest  not  the  affliction  of  others. 
Consider  duly  the  trials  of  that  eminent  saint  Job,  in  all  the 
circumstances  thereof,  and  see  if  you  can  say  that  your  sor- 
row is  near  so  great  as  his  was.  Again,  compare  your  case 
with  that  of  the  damned  in  hell,  who  lie  in  endless  and 
ceaseless  flames,  so  that  they  have  no  rest  day  nor  night,  but 
the  smoke  of  their  torment  ascends  for  ever  ;  and  think  what 
a  blessing  it  is  that  you  are  yet  in  a  state  of  salvation,  and< 
not  delivered  over  to  these  everlasting  burnings,  which  were 
the  due  deserts  of  your  sins,  and  to  which  you  would  long 
ago  have  been  justly  condemned,  had  it  not  been  for  the 
patience  and  long-siiffering  of  Almighty  God,  who  waiteth 
to  be  gracious  to  guilty  sinners.  When  you  consider  these 
things,  instead  of  being  dissatisfied  with  the  divine  dispen- 
sations, you  have  cause  to  bless  God  that  matters  are  not 
worse  with  you,  and  that  you  are  kept  out  of  hell  to  this 
day,  where  thousands,  no  more  guilty  than  you,  are  even  now 
groaning  in  endless  desperation. 

Unto  these  considerations  I  shall  subjoin  some  few  helpiS 
or  advices,  in  order  to  the  attaining  of  patience  under  sore 
troubles.  ^  ■  r  ,    ■ 


PARTICULAR  DIRECTIONS.  59 

6.  Labor  to  get  pardon  of  sin  and  peace  with  God 
secured  to  thy  soul,  and  this  will  enable  you  to  bear  the 
heaviest  cross  with  patience.  Hence  it  was  that  Luther 
cried,  "  Smite,  Lord,  as  thou  wilt ;  I  take  it  all  in  good  part, 
seeing  my  sins  are  pardoned.  Oh,  pardon  of  sin  is  the  crown- 
ing blessing,  therefore  will  I  bear  any  thing ;  I  will  swallow 
up  quarrelUng  into  admiring ;  I  will  welcome  the  pruning- 
knife,  seeing  there  is  no  fear  of  the  bloody  axe  to  fell  me 
down." 

7.  Labor  to  see  God's  hand  in  thy  affliction.  Do  not, 
like  the  dog,  snarl  at  the  stone,  but  look  up  to  the  hand  that 
throws  it.  And  surely  a  view  of  the  hand  of  a  holy  God 
may  serve  to  calm  all  the  boisterous  waves  of  thy  corruption ; 
so  did  it  with  David :  "  I  was  dumb,  I  opened  not  my  mouth, 
because  thou  didst  it."  Psa.  39  :  9.  When  he  looked  to  the 
instruments  and  second  causes  of  his  afflictions,  his  heart 
waxed  hot,  and  the  fire  of  his  inward  passion  began  to  burn 
and  break  out ;  but  when  he  once  espied  God's  hand  and  seal 
to  the  warrant  for  his  correction,  he  became  silent,  and  pa- 
tiently submitted  to  the  divine  will. 

8.  Get  a  humble  and  self-denied  frame  of  spirit,  that  you 
may  have  low  thoughts  of  yourself,  and  of  all  your  attain- 
ments whatsoever.  A  proud  man  cannot  think  of  submitting 
to  the  divine  will,  but  will  break  before  he  bow.  Hence  we 
see  a  vast  difference  between  a  proud  Pharaoh  and  an  humble 
Eli,  under  the  rod  :  the  one  says,  "Who  is  the  Lord,  that  I 
should  obey  him?"  but  the  other  saith,  "It  is  the  Lord;  let 
him  do  what  seemeth  him  good." 

9.  Get  love  to  Jesus  Christ.  Love  is  an  enduring  prin- 
ciple. 1  Cor.  13:7.  It  endureth  all  things.  It  makes  the 
soul,  like  the  kindly  child,  draw  nearer  to  Christ,  the  more 
it  is  beaten.  Interpret  God's  ways  and  dealings  with  you 
always  in  the  best  sense ;  and  be  earnest  in  prayer  that  God 
may  conquer  your  rebellious  will,  and  subdue  those  mutinous 
risings  of  heart  within  you  against  himself 


60  AFFLICTED   MAN'S   COMPANION. 

Direction  6.  Beware  of  envying  wicked  men,  when  you  see 
them  in  health  and  prosperity. 
The  psalmist,  when  he  was  chastened  every  morning,  and 
in  great  adversity,  fell  into  this  error.  "  I  was  envious  at  the 
foolish,  when  I  saw  the  prosperity  of  the  wicked."  Psa.  73:3. 
Corrupt  nature  doth  strongly  incline  us  to  this  sinful  dispo- 
sition, especially  in  the  day  of  sore  affliction;  for  "the  spirit 
that  dwelleth  in  us  lusteth  to  envy."  James  4 : 5.  But,  did 
we  rightly  consider  the  state  of  wicked  men,  we  would  see 
greater  ground  to  pity  than  to  envy  them  in  their  most  pros- 
perous condition.  Why?  "The  prosperity  of  fools  shall  de- 
stroy them."  Prov.  1  :32.  It  makes  them  forget  God,  and 
turn  hardened  and  secure  in  sin,  which  hastens  their  ruin. 
Who  would  envy  a  malefactor's  going  up  a  high  ladder,  and 
being  mounted  above  the  rest  of  the  people,  when  it  is  only 
for  a  little,  and  in  order  to  his  being  turned  over  and  hanged  ? 
This  is  just  the  case  of  wicked  men  who  are  mounted  up 
high  in  prosperity ;  for  it  is  so  only  that  they  may  be  cast 
down  deeper  into  destruction.  "Fret  not  thyself  because  of 
evil-doers,  neither  be  thou  envious  against  the  workers  of 
iniquity ;  for  they  shall  soon  be  cut  down  like  grass."  Psa. 
37  :  1,  2.  "When  the  wicked  spring  as  the  grass,  and  when 
all  the  workers  of  iniquity  do  flourish,  it  is  that  they  shall  be 
destroyed  for  ever."  Psa.  92  : 7.  It  would  be  a  brutish  thing 
to  envy  an  ox  his  rich  pasture,  when  he  is  only  thereby  fitted 
for  the  day  of  slaughter.  Who  would  have  envied  the  beasts 
of  old  the  garland  and  ribbons  with  which  the  heathen  adorn- 
ed them  when  they  went  to  be  sacrificed  ?  These  external 
ornaments  of  health,  wealth,  pleasures,  and  preferments,  with 
which  wicked  men  are  endowed,  cannot  make  their  state 
happy,  nor  change  their  natures  to  the  better.  Whatever 
appearance  these  things  make  in  the  eyes  of  the  world,  they 
are  but  like  a  noisome  dunghill  covered  with  scarlet,  as  vile 
and  loathsome  in  God's  sight  as  ever.  How  quickly  is  the 
beauty  of  earthly  things  blasted  I     "  The  triumphing  of  the 


PARTICULAR  DIRECTIONS.  61 

wicked  is  shert."  Job  20  :  5.  "  They  live  in  pleasure  on  the 
earth,"  for  a  while;  but  God  sets  them  in  slippery  places, 
from  whence  they  soon  slide  into  perpetual  pain  and  anguish. 
They  have  a  short  time  of  mirth,  but  they  shall  have  an 
eternity  of  mourning.  The  longer  their  prosperity  is,  their 
sins  are  the  greater,  and  their  sufferings  will  be  more  griev- 
ous. But,  Q  believer,  it  is  in  mercy  to  thee  that  God  doth 
hedge  up  thy  way  with  thorns,  that  thou  mayest  not  find  thy 
paths ;  while  he  turns  the  wicked  loose,  and  suffers  them  to 
stray  and  wander  whither  they  will,  to  their  eternal  ruin. 
God  takes  this  method  with  you,  to  make  you  meet  for  an 
inheritance,  and  prepare  you  for  a  crown  of  glory ;  but  he 
takes  a  contrary  way  with  the  wicked,  to  fit  them  for  de- 
struction :  therefore  you  ought  not  to  be  fretful  under  his  hand, 
but  thankful.  We  read  of  queen  Elizabeth,  when  she  was 
in  prison,  how  she  envied  the  poor  milk-maid  she  saw  pass- 
ing by,  and  would  have  thought  herself  happy  to  have  been 
in  her  condition  ;  but  had  that  afflicted  princess  known  the 
glorious  reign  of  forty-four  years  she  was  soon  to  enter  upon, 
she  would  not  have  repined  at  the  happiness  of  so  mean  a 
person.  But  0,  afflicted  believer,  it  is  not  a  glorious  reign 
for  a  set  number  of  years,  that  is  provided  for  thee;  it  is 
^ven  a  reign  with  glorious  Christ  thy  Redeemer  for  ever 
and  ever :  and  hast  thou  any  ground  to  be  discontented  or 
envious  ? 

Direction  7.     Guard  against  repining  and  murmuring  against 
the  providence  of  God,  under  heavy  sickness  and  affliction. 

We  see  that  murraurers  and  complainers  are  classed  with 
those  that  walk  after  their  own  lusts.  Jude  16.  I  know 
the  people  of  God  are  liable  to  murmuring  and  impatience 
also  under  affliction ;  but  there  is  a  great  difference  between 
them  and  the  wicked.  I  shall  have  occasion  to  speak  of 
believers'  murmurings  afterwards,  when  I  come  to  speak  of 
their  case  in  particular;  but  here  I  shall  handle  the  sin  of 


62  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

murmuring  in  general,  and  as  it  appears  mainly  in  the  unre- 
generate,  under  heavy  afflictio^. 

This  sin  of  murmuring  is  the  froth  of  impatience,  and 
scum  of  discontent ;  it  is  first  cherished  by  repining  thoughts, 
and  then  vented  by  unsuitable  complaints  and  expostulations, 
taxing  the  administration  of  providence,  as  if  God  dealt  too 
hardly  with  us.  Our  very  thoughts  are  audible  with  God, 
yea,  as  loud  in  his  ears  as  words  are  in  ours ;  but  it  is  yet  worse 
when  repining  thoughts  are  not  crushed,  but  suffered  to  break 
out  into  words  tending  to  the  dishonor  of  God. 

Observe  here  that  humble  complaints  are  not  murmur- 
ings,  nor  sinful  in  themselves ;  otherwise  there  would  be  no 
room  for  prayer,  and  for  spreading  out  our  distressed  case 
before  the  Lord.  We  find  God's  children  making  complaints 
in  affliction,  but  then  they  do  not  complain  of  God,  but  to 
God,  with  an  humble  inquiry  into  the  cause  and  meaning  of 
his  dispensations,  and  laying  all  the  blame  upon  themselves, 
as  did  Job.  "  I  will  leave  my  complaint  upon  myself;  I  will 
speak  in  the  bitterness  of  my  soul,  I  will  say  unto  God,  Do 
not  condemn  me ;  show  me  wherefore  thou  contendest  with 
me."  Job  10  : 1,  2.  Thus  the  blessed  Son  of  God  himself 
did  in  his  distress,  when  he  cried,  "My  God,  my  God,  why 
hast  thou  forsaken  me?"  But  there  we  may  observe,  he 
complains  to  God,  not  of  God ;  he  hath  not  a  hard  word  or 
thought  of  God,  but  expresseth  a  holy  confidence  in  God : 
"My  God,  my  God;"  he  hath  two  words  of  faith  for  one 
word  of  fear ;  he  humbly  inquires  into  the  cause  of  the  dis- 
pensation, and  desires  to  bring  up  his  will  to  God,  not  that 
God  should  bring  down  his  will  to  him.  "  If  it  be  possible," 
says  he,  "let  this  cup  pass;"  however,  glorify  thy  name,  pro- 
vide for  thy  own  glory,  and  do  with  me  what  thou  pleasest. 
In  this  matter  our  Lord  doth  set  himself  as  an  example  of 
patience  to  us,  teaching  us  to  beware  of  impatient  murmur- 
ing and  quarrelling  with  God's  providence  in  our  afflictions, 
which  many  times  we  are  guilty  of,  either  when  we  harbor 


PARTICULAR  DIRECTIONS.  63 

harsh  thoughts  of  God's  dealings,  or  break  forth  into  rash 
and  unadvised  speeches ;  when  we  charge  God  foolishly,  and 
complain  either  of  too  much  severity,  Ezek.  18 : 2,  25,  or  of 
too  long  delay,  Isa.  49 :  14,  or  when  our  complaints  are 
mixed  with  unbelief  and  distrust,  Psa.  78:19,  or  when  we 
complain  more  of  our  punishment  than  we  do  of  our  sin,  and 
nothing  will  satisfy  us  but  deliverance  from  trouble. 

Now,  to  deter  you  from  these  murmurings  and  complaints 
in  trouble,  I  shall  lay  before  you  the  following  considera- 
tions : 

1.  They  who  deserve  worst  commonly  complain  and 
murmur  most,  and  are  most  ready  to  think  they  are  hardly 
dealt  with.  The  unthankful  Israelites  were  always  mur- 
muring ;  ambitious  Absalom  was  discontented ;  bloody  Ha- 
man,  in  the  midst  of  all  his  greatness,  cries  out,  "  What  doth 
all  this  avail  me?"  But  humble  Jacob  saith  he  is  not 
worthy  of  the  least  of  all  the  mercies  and  truth  which  God 
had  showed  him.  And  holy  Job  blesses  God  and  patiently 
submits,  when  he  took  from  him  as  well  as  when  he  gave 
him. 

2.  Murmuring  is  a  sin  that  God  takes  special  notice  of, 
and  looks  upon  as  an  injury  and  affront  done  immediately 
against  himself.  "  I  have  heard  the  murmurings  of  the 
children  of  Israel,  which  they  murmur  against  me."  Num. 
14  :  27.  He  that  gives  ear  to  the  "  groanings"  of  his  own 
Spirit,  doth  also  hear  the  grumblings  of  thine,  and  will  reck- 
on with  thee  for  them 

3.  It  cannot  benefit  or  relieve  us  in  distress.  I  may  say 
of  sinful  complaining,  as  Christ  did  of  sinful  care,  Which  of 
you  by  complaining  can  add  one  cubit  to  his  stature  ? 
What  ease  or  relief  can  you  get  by  contending  with  God  ? 
Nay,  instead  of  easing  you  of  your  burden,  it  will  make  it 
the  heavier  :  as  the  more  a  child  struggles  with  his  parents, 
the  more  he  is  beaten.  The  Israelites  were  once  within 
eleven  days'  journey  of  Canaan  ;  but  by  their  murmurings 


64  AFFLICTED  MAN'S   COMPANION.' 

they  provoked  God  to  lead  them  forty  years'  march  in  the 
wilderness  before  they  could  reach  it. 

4.  Whatever  be  your  distress,  there  is  no  just  ground  for 
complaints  while  thou  hast  thy  life  for  a  prey.  Remember 
that  word  of  the  afflicted  church,  "  "Wherefore  doth  a  living 
man  complain,  a  man  for  the  punishment  of  his  sins?" 
Lam.  3  :  39.  A  man  living,  a  man  upon  the  earth,  a  man 
out  of  hell,  has  no  cause  to  complain,  whatever  be  his  afflic- 
tion. For,  let  him  compare  his  sin  and  punishment  together, 
he  will  find  there  is  no  proportion ;  sin  is  a  transgression 
against  the  infinite  God,  punishment  is  but  an  affliction  upon 
the  finite  creature  ;  sin  strikes  at  the  very  being  of  God,  but 
temporal  punishment  only  at  the  comfort  of  the  creature. 
So  that  whatever  your  punishment  be,  you  have  more  cause 
to  give  thanks  than  to  complain,  and  to  say  with  Ezra, 
"Thou  hast  punished  us  less  than  our  iniquities  deserve." 
It  would  have  been  a  thousand  times  worse  if  strict  justice 
had  been  the  rule.  "It  is  of  the  Lord's  mercies  we  are  not 
consumed." 

5.  When  you  murmur  under  sickness,  you  quarrel  with 
the  messenger  of  that  sovereign  God  who  gave  you  your  life 
and  can  take  it  again  when  he  thinks  fit ;  and  we  know  mes- 
sengers ought  not  to  be  maltreated  or  abused,  whatever  be 
their  commission,  and  far  less  when  they  are  sent  upon  a 
good  design.  Now,  if  you  consider  the  design  of  this  mes- 
senger and  his  errand  to  you,  instead  of  fretting  and  quarrel- 
ing at  his  coming,  you  ought  rather  to  bless  God  that  sends 
such  a  suitable  harbinger  and  forerunner  to  tell  you  that 
death  is  approaching,  and  that  he  vouchsafes  to  take  so 
much  pains  with  you  to  wean  you  from  the  world  and  make 
you  willing  to  be  gone  by  long-continued  trouble,  when  he 
might  have  seized  you  in  a  violent  manner  and  driven  you 
away  by  main  force,  without  using  any  means  to.  obtain 
your  consent.  Have  not  many,  who  at  the  beginning  of  a 
sickness  were  most  unwilling  to  die,  been  brought  by  the  in- 


PARTICULAR  DIRECTIONS.  65 

crease  and  continuance  of  it  to  be  well  satisfied  to  leave  the 
world  and  long  to  be  with  Christ  ?  And  was  not  this  for 
their  advantage  ? 

.6,  Consider  the  great  evil  and  sinfulness  of  impatient 
murmurings,  complaints,  and  quarrellings  under  affliction. 

Murmuring  hath  in  it  much  unbelief  and  distrust  of 
God.  "They  believed  not  his  word,  but  murmured  in  their 
tents."  Psalm  106  :  24,  25.  They  could  not  believe  that 
the  wilderness  was  the  way  to  Canaan,  that  God  would 
provide  and  furnish  a  table  for  them  there,  and  relieve  them 
in  all  their  straits.  So  it  is  with  us  in  trouble :  we  quarrel 
with  God's  providence  because  we.  do  not  believe  his  prom- 
ises ;  we  do  not  believe  that  this  can  be  consistent  with  love, 
or  can  work  for  good  in  the  end. 

It  hath  in  it  unthankfulness.  While  we  complain  of 
one  affliction,  we  overlook  a  thousand  mercies.  The  Israel- 
ites murmured  so  for  what  they  had  not,  that  they  unthank- 
fuUy  forgot  all  they  had ;  whereas  a  thankful  person  is  so  far 
from  fretting  that  God  doth  not  give  him  every  thing,  that 
he  wonders  that  God  should  give  him  any  thing.  "I  am 
less  than  the  least  of  all  thy  mercies,"  said  Jacob.  "We 
are  perplexed,"  said  Paul,  "but  not  in  despair:"  we  have 
God  to  go  to,  which  is  matter  of  praise.  But  the  mur- 
murer  unthankfuily  overlooks  all  his  present,  and  forgets 
all  his  former  mercies,  and  gives  not  God  thanks  for  any 
thing.  Because  God  removes  his  comforts,  his  health  and 
strength  and  ease  for  a  time,  all  the  years  he  formerly  en- 
joyed them,  though  most  undeservedly,  are  quite  buried  in 
oblivion. 

It  implies  much  pride  and  self-coTiceit.  He  that  com- 
plains of  God's  dealings,  secretly  applauds  his  own  deserv- 
ings.  Only  by  pride  comes  contention.  When  men  have  a 
conceit  of  themselves,  they  pick  quarrels  with  God's  provi- 
dence, being  apt  to  think  they  deserve  better  treatment  at 
his  hands  ;  whereas  the  humble  soul  is  sensible  he  deserves 


66  AFFLICTED   MAN'S  COMPANION. 

nothing  but  wrath,  and  therefore  lays  his  hand  on  his  mouth 
when  the  Lord  afflicts  him. 

It  involves  men  in  rebellion  against  God.  When  God 
strikes  men  for  sin,  murmurs  fly  in  his  face,  and  they  kick 
against  his  strokes  like  bullocks  unaccustomed  to  the  yoke. 
They  in  some  respect  resemble  that  desperate  apostate  Jul- 
ian, ^f  whom  it  is  written  that  he  shot  up  his  darts  against 
heaven  when  he  was  in  distress.  They  fulfil  that  word  of 
holy  writ,  "  The  foolishness  of  man  perverteth  his  way,  and 
his  heart  fretteth  against  the  Lord."  Prov.  19:3.  The  re- 
pining heart  boils  with  rage  against  God  and  his  dispensa- 
tions, like  those  wicked  Jews  when  hungry  and  distressed : 
"They  shall  fret  themselves,  and  curse  their  king  and  their 
God,  and  look  upward."     Isaiah  8:21. 

It  imports  much  impenitency  and  unhumbledness  for 
sin,  and  that  we  have  seen  little  of  the  intrinsic  evil  of  sin, 
and  of  our  ill-deservings  for  it.  Can  we  truly  believe  that 
our  sins  deserve  hell-fire,  and  yet  impatiently  repine  at  sick^ 
ness  and  lesser  strokes  upon  our  bodies  ? 

It  includes  much  atheism  and  blasphemy  against  God, 
and  his  infinite  perfections,  in  several  respects. 

By  our  impatient  murmurings,  we  either  virtually  deny 
that  things  here  below  are  governed  by  God's  providence ;  or 
else, 

We  tax  his  providence  with  unrighteousness  in  the  man- 
agements thereof;  as  if  God  did  withhold  from  us  what  is 
due,  or  inflict  on  us  what  we  have  not  deserved.  0,  what 
atheism  is  this ;  shall  not  the .  Judge  of  all  the  earth  do 
right?  May  he  not,  upon  the  justest  ground,  answer  every 
murmurer,  "Friend,  I  do  thee  no  wrong?"     Matt.  20  :  13. 

We  in  efi^ect  grasp  at  the  sovereignty  and  usurp  the 
throne  of  the  most  high  God,  and  would  have  the  disposal 
of  things  in  our  hands ;  yea,  we  presume  to  summon  God  to 
our  bar  to  give  account  of  his  administration,  when  we  take 
upon  us  to  quarrel  with  any  of  his  dispensations.     Alas,  we 


PARTICULAR  DIRECTIONS.  67 

little  remember  the  woe  that  is  pronounced  against  so  doing : 
"Woe  unto  him  that  striveth  with  his  Maker  ;  shall  the  clay- 
say  to  ,him  that  fashioneth  it,  What  makest  thou  ?  or  thy 
work,  He  hath  no  hands  ?~     Isa.  45  :  9. 

We  on  the  matter  take  sin's  part  against  God ;  we  either 
justify  it,  or  extenuate  its  evil,  and  allege,  by  our  murmur- 
ings,  that  God  is  unrighteous  to  punish  such  small  sins  with 
such  heavy  afflictions. 

We  virtually  question  God's  power  to  reach  us  a  greater 
blow.  When  we  enter  the  lists  with  God,  and  contend  with 
our  Maker,  is  it  not  in  effect  to  say,  we  know  how  to  reduce 
him  to  our  terms,  or  make  our  party  good  against  him  ? 

We  disparage  his  wisdom,  and  take  upon  us  to  be  his 
counsellors,  as  if  we  could  instruct  him  better  in  the  man- 
agement of  affairs,  and  teach  him  what  is  fit  to  be  done 
with  his  creatures.  Hear  what  the  Lord  saith.  Job  40  :  2 : 
"  Shall  he  that  contendeth  with  the  Almighty,  instruct  him  ? 
He  that  reproveth  God,  let  him  answer  it."  Murmuring  is 
a  reproving  of  God,  and  a  charging  him  with  ill-conduct, 
saying,  in  effect,  with  Absalom,  "There  is  none  that  takes 
care  to  order  men's  affairs  :  0  that  I  were  king  of  the 
world ;  then  should  things  be  better  ordered  than  they  now 
are."  So  blasphemous  is  the  language  of  our  impatient 
murmurings.  Let  us  therefore  be  ashamed  of  them,  and 
abhor  ourselves  in  dust  and  ashes  for  our  foolishness  in  cen- 
suring the  actions  of  the  only- wise  God.  Shall  a  poor  igno- 
rant passenger,  that  understands  not  the  use  of  the  compass, 
be  angry  that  the  skilful  pilot  will  not  steer  the  vessel  ac- 
cording to  his  pleasure  ? 

We  hereby  slight  and  undervalue  the  riches  of  diviiie 
goodness,  of  which  we  have  formerly  shared,  and  do  still 
partake  :  as  foolish  and  pettish  children,  if  they  cannot  have 
their  will,  or  get  some  things  they  want,  do  presently  throw 
away  the  things  which  they  have,  saying,  with  unthankful 
Haman,  "All  this  availeth  me  nothing." 


68  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

This  sin  hath  some  resemblance  to  hell  itself;  for  there 
the  damned  do  continually  vex  and  torment  themselves  with 
their  fretting  and  impatient  thoughts,  which  cause  them  to 
break  out  in  fearful  rage  and  blasphemy  against  God. 

GluESTioN.  But  how  shall  we  prevent  such  discontented 
murmurings  ?  for  sometimes  trouble  is  so  great  we  cannot 
bear  it  patiently. 

Answer.  God  hath  given  you  reason  to  bear  rule  over 
passion,  and  furnished  you  with  strong  arguments  to  prevail 
against  discontent.  Why  then  should  you  be  so  brutish  as 
to  dethrone  reason,  and  suffer  sense  and  passion  to  govern  in 
you?  Are  you  not  Christians,  and  sworn  to  live  according 
to  the  rules  of  the  gospel  of  Christ  ?  Why  then  do  you  act 
so  contrary  to  your  profession  and  engagements  ? 

Besides  what  I  have  already  said,  I  shall  add  some  few 
remedies  more  for  the  cure  of  this  murmuring  distemper. 

1.  Look  on  thy  murmurings  as  worse  than  all  thy  pains 
and  troubles  whatsoever ;  those  are  but  afflictions  from  God, 
but  these  are  sins  grievous  and  provoking  unto  God. 

2.  Remember  the  judgments  which  murmuring  hath 
brought  down  from  heaven  upon  sinners.  Miriam  was 
smitten  with  leprosy  for  it ;  Dathan  and  Abiram  were  swal- 
lowed up  alive ;  fiery  serpents,  plagues  and  exclusion  from 
Canaan,  were  Israel's  judgments  for  this  sin.  "Neither 
murmur  ye,  as  some  of  them  also  murmured,  and  were  de- 
stroyed of  the  destroyer."  1  Cor.  10:10.  The  arrows 
which  murmurers  shoot  up  against  heaven  quickly  return 
upon  their  own  heads. 

S.  Whatever  thy  sufferings  are  for  the  present,  yet  still 
believe  thy  case  might  be  worse.  The  troubles  that  light 
upon  the  body  are  nothing  so  terrible  as  those  that  light 
on  the  soul.  "A  wounded  spirit  who  can  bear?"  Prov. 
18  :  14.  They  are  nothing  to  what  thy  innocent  Saviour 
suffered  upon  the  cross ;  yea,  nothing  to  what  some  martyrs 
have  endured  for  the  truths  of  the  gospel. 


PARTICULAR  DIRECTIONS.  69 

4.  Get  very  low  thoughts  of  yourself,  and  a  deep  sense 
of  your  ill-deservings  for  sin.  0,  should  a  firebrand  of  hell 
murmur  for  temporal  afflictions  ? 

5.  Be  employed  in  examining  thyself,  rather  than  in 
censuring  God.  Doth  God  seem  to  neglect  thee  ?  say,  then, 
Alas,  it  is  most  just ;  have  not  I  neglected  him,  and  given  a 
deaf  ear  to  his  calls  many  a  day  ? 

6.  Bear  in  mind  that  these  troubles  will  not  last  :  there 
is  a  great  change  near ;  they  will  issue  either  in  life  or  in 
death.  If  in  life,  you  will  be  ashamed  you  had  no  more  pa- 
tience when  sick.  If  in  death,  then  if  you  belong  to  Christ, 
it  will  give  a  finishing  stroke  to  all  troubles  and  complaints, 
and  heaven  will  make  amends  for  all.  But  if  you  be  not 
in  Christ,  whatever  your  afflictions  be  now,  troubles  a  thou- 
sand times  worse  are  abiding  you  in  another  world  :  death 
will  turn  thy  crosses  into  pure  unmixed  curses  ;  and  then, 
how  gladly  wouldst  thou  return  to  thy  former  afflicted  state, 
and  purchase  it  at  any  rate,  were  there  any  possibility  of  such 
a  return.  You  now-  fly  out  in  a  passion,  and  say  you  are 
not  able  to  bear  what  you  complain  of.  But  consider,  if  you 
will  not  obediently  bear  God's  rods  now,  you  will  then  bear 
more,  whether  you  will  or  not;  and  God  will  make  you 
able  to  bear  more,  when  there  will  never  be  any  hopes  of 
relief. 

7.  Study  to  give  vent  to  thy  sorrows  in  a  way  of  prayer 
and  praise.  An  oven  stopped,  is  the  more  hot  within  ;  but 
the  breath  of  prayer  or  praise  gives  ease.  If  we  complained 
more  to  God,  we  should  complain  less  of  God.  What  a 
mercy  is  it  that  you  still  have  God  to  go  to.  Improve  the 
privilege,  confess  your  unworthiness,  and  beg  the  grace  of  pa- 
tience and  submission  out  of  Christ's  full  treasures.  Praise 
God  also  for  mercies  received ;  and  however  bad  thy  case  is, 
bless  God  you  are  not  in  hell;  you  are  in  the  land  of  hope. 


70  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 


CHAPTER    III. 

SPECIAL    DIRECTIONS    TO    THE    CHILDREN   OF    GOD  WHEN 
UNDER  SICKNESS,   OR  ANY  OTHER  AFFLICTION. 

Direction  1 .  Let  believers  especially  guard  against  fainting  or 
desponding  under  God's  afflicting  hand. 

This  is  an  exhortation  which  God  in  a  special  manner 
directs  to  his  children:  "  My  son,  despise  thou  not  the  chas- 
tening of  the  Lord,  nor  faint  when  thou  art  rebuked  of  him." 
Heb.  12:5.  There  are  two  extremes  mentioned,  despising 
and  fainting.  I  have  spoken  of  the  first  in  Chapter  II.,  Di- 
rection 2.  It  is  a  duty  to  feel  our  affliction,  but  a  sin  to 
faint  under  it.  God's  people  may  be  said  to  faint  under 
their  trials  when  they  sink  or  despond,  or  give  way  to 
fretting  or  repining  under  them.  In  the  preceding  direc- 
tion, I  spoke  of  the  evil  of  murmuring  in  general ;  here  I 
shall  speak  of  believers'  faintings  in  particular,  and  inquire 
whence  their  fainting  under  affliction  doth  proceed,  bring 
some  arguments  and  helps  against  this  evil,  and  answer 
some  objections  of  fainting  believers. 

I.  Whence  these  faintings  in  believers  proceed. 

1.  They  proceed  from  the  grievousness  of  their  affliction 
and  the  heaviness  of  their  burden,  which  is  ready  to  amaze 
and  stagger  their  thoughts,  and  sink  their  spirits  with  fear 
and  despondency.  Hence  did  the  psalmist  complain,  "Thou 
hast  showed  thy  people  hard  things  :  thou  hast  made  us  to 
drink  the  wine  of  astonishment."  Psalm  60  :  3.  "I  sink 
in  deep  mire,  where  there  is  no  standing;  I  am  come  into 
deep  waters,  where  the  floods  overflow  me."     Psalm  69  :  2. 

2.  From  the  smallness  of  their  spiritual  strength,  and 
particularly  the  weakness  of  their  faith  :  "If  thou  faint  in 
the  day  of  adversity,  thy  strength  is  small."  Pro  v.  24  :  10. 
Whence  was  it  that  Peter  fainted  and  began  to  sink  in  the 
waters,  but  from  the  weakness  of  his  faith  ?     Matt.  14  :  30, 


BELIEVERS  IN  AFFLICTION.  71 

31.  We  know  not  our  strength  till  it  is  tried.  Sometimes 
we  have  such  a  conceit  of  it,  that  we  think,  like  Peter,  we 
can  walk  upon  a  sea  of  trouble  ;  but  soon,  behold,  some  sud- 
den blast  assaults  our  confidence,  and  then  we  faint,  or  cry 
out  with  him,  "Help,  Lord,  or  we  perish."  Peter  reckoned 
only  upon  the  sea,  he  did  not  think  of  the  boisterous  wind ; 
and  he  looked  to  dangers  more  than  to  the  power  that  was 
to  carry  him  through  them. 

3.  From  their  impatience  of  delay.  "When  deliverance 
is  long  in  coming,  it  is  not  easy  to  wait  God's  leisure,  and 
to  keep  the  heart  from  desperate  conclusions.  "  I  said  in  my 
haste,  I  am  cut  off  from  before  thine  eyes."    Psa.  31  :  22. 

4.  From  the  power  of  Satan's  temptations,  and  furious 
assaults.  When  Satan  is  let  loose  in  time  of  affliction  to 
throw  in  his  fiery  darts,  the  believer  is  ready  to  faint  and 
say,  *'  Will  the  Lord  cast  off  for  ever  ;  and  will  he  be  favor- 
able no  more  ?  Is  his  mercy  clean  gone  for  ever  ;  doth  his 
promise  fail  for  evermore  ?  Hath  God  forgotten  to  be  gra- 
cious? Hath  he  in  anger  shut  up  his  tender  mercies?" 
Psalm  77  : 7-9. 

5.  From  their  wearisome  conflicts  with  a  body  of  death 
and  an  ill  heart.  These,  in  time  of  trouble,  add  affliction 
to  the  afflicted. 

6.  From  long  and  great  desertions.  When  God  hides 
his  face  from  the  believer  in  affliction,  his  soul  faints  under 
it.  "  Zion  hath  said,  the  Lord  hath  forsaken  me,  and  my 
Lord  hath  forgotten  me."    Isa.  49  :  14. 

7.  From  the  consciousness  of  their  guilt  and  ill-desert 
before  God,  on  account  of  old  sins,  abuse  of  m.ercies,  and  not 
walking  humbly  before  God.  Affliction  doth  revive  old  sins, 
as  with  Job  :  "  Thou  writest  bitter  things  against  me,  and 
makest  me  to  possess  the  iniquities  of  my  youth."  Job 
13  :  26.  His  old  sins,  and  the  guilt  of  his  youthful  follies, 
now  revived  upon  him  and  sat  close  to  his  conscience,  which 
occasioned  his  fainting  under  his  burden. 


72  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

8.  Great  afflictions  frequently  cloud  believers'  graces  and 
evidences  for  heaven,  and  disclose  their  corruptions,  where- 
by they  are  made  to  sink  under  their  trials.  They  see  more 
unbelief,  impatience,  distrust^  and  enmity  to  God  in  them- 
selves, than  they  saw  before  ;  they  see  more  of  their  weak- 
ness of  grace,  and  of  their  want  of  faith  and  love,  than  be- 
fore ;  whereby  they  are  sometimes  tempted  to  raze  the  foun- 
dation, and  say,  all  their  former  attainments  were  but  delu- 
sions, and  their  professions  but  hypocrisy.  These  things 
make  afflictions  sometimes  very  heavy  and  sinking  to  the 
people  of  God. 

II.  For  preventing  and  helping  this  evil  of  fainting  un- 
der affliction,  let  believers  consider, 

1 .  These  heavy  trials  are  all  needful  for  you.  Deep  wa- 
ters are  not  more  needful  to  carry  a  ship  into  the  haven,  than 
great  afflictions  are  to  carry  the  vessels  of  our  souls  into  the 
port  of  bliss.  Strong  winds  and  lightning  are  frightful,  but 
they  are  necessary  to  purge  the  air.  One  of  the  sharpest 
calamities  that  ever  befell  Israel,  was  the  Babylonish  captiv 
ity":  yet  even  this  was  in  mercy  to  them  ;  for  the  Lord  saith, 
"  I  have  sent  them  out  of  this  place  into  the  land  of  the 
Chaldeans  for  their  good."  Jer.  24:5.  Strange  I  of  free- 
men to  be  made  prisoners,  and  that  in  a  strange  land,  among 
the  heathen — ^to  be  removed  far  from  their  own  houses, 
vineyards,  friends,  nay,  from  the  temple  of  God  and  his  ordi- 
nances ;  and  yet  all  this  for  their  good  I  Why  ?  They  were 
hereby  effectually  weaned  and  broken  off  from  their  darling 
sin  of  idolatry. 

2.  Consider  that  your  affliction,  however  heavy  it  be, 
will  soon  have  an  end.  "  For  I  will  not  contend  for  ever, 
neither  will  I  be  always  wroth ;  for  the  spirit  should  fail 
before  me,  and  the  souls  which  I  have  made."  Isa.  57  :  16. 
The  goldsmith  will  not  let  his  gold  lie  longer  in  the  furnace 
than  until  it  is  purified.  The  wicked  have  a  sea  of  wrath 
to  drink  ;  but,  0  drooping  believer,  take  comfort,  you  have 


BELIEVERS  IN  AFFLICTION.  73 

but  a  cup  of  affliction,  which  will  soon  be  exhausted.  The 
time  is  near  when  all  thy  trials  shall  have  an  end  :  in 
heaven  there  is  no  cross,  no  complaint,  no  tears  nor  sorrows 
for  ever. 

3.  Faint  not,  0  child  of  God,  for  these  affhctions  are  all 
the  hell  which  thou  shalt  have ;  thou  hast  nothing  to  fear 
hereafter.  Judas  had  two  hells,  one  in  time,  by  terror  in 
his  conscience,  another  after  this  life,  which  shall  endure  to 
eternity ;  but  all  the  hell  that  a  believer  hath  is  but  this 
light  affliction,  which  is  but  for  a  moment. 

4.  Desponding  or  murmuring  in  affliction  is  evil  in  any, 
but  in  none  is  it  so  bad  as  in  the  children  of  God.  It  doth 
very  ill  become  their  covenants,  their  privileges,  their  hopes. 
Have  they  resigned  and  given  up  themselves  and  all  they 
have  to  God  by  a  solemn  covenant,  and  will  they  fret  when 
he  disposeth  of  them?  Didst  thou  not  say,  0  believer,  in 
the  day  when  thy  heart  was  stung  with  sin,  and  the  terrors 
of  God  made  thee  afraid,  0  let  me  have  Jesus  Christ  for  my 
Saviour  and  portion,  and  I  will  be  content,  though  I  should 
be  stricken  with  boils  like  Job,  or  beg  my  bread  like  Laza- 
rus. Now,  God  tries  thee  if  thou  wilt  stand  to  thy  word : 
0  beware  of  retracting.  Hath  not  that  soul  enough,  who 
hath  an  all-sufficient  God  for  his  portion  ?  If  God  be  thine 
in  covenant,  that  comprehends  all  things. 

5.  It  doth  discompose  and  unfit  the  soul  for  any  duty.  It 
is  ill  sailing  in  a  storm  ;  so  it  is  ill  praying  when  the  heart 
is  in  a  storm  of  disquiet  and  despondency. 

6.  Your  fainting  under  affliction,  and  acting  as  if  the 
consolations  of  God  were  small,  is  enough  to  stumble  others 
at  religion,  and  make  them  call  the  truth  of  it  in  question. 
When  they  see  those  fainting  that  profess  religion,  and  have 
often  declared  that  their  rejoicing  is  in  Christ  Jesus  as  their 
portion,  0  may  they  not  be  tempted  to  say,  "  Where  is  the 
truth  of  religion  ?  Where  are  those  divine  supports  and  con- 
solations we  have  often  heard  of?" 

Am.  MaM',r,,i,p.  4 


74  AFFLICTED  MAN'S   COMPANIOK. 

7.  0  then  seek  to  get  faith  revived  and  strengthened, 
and  resolve  with  Job  to  trust  in  God,  though  he  should  slay 
you.  This  would  be  of  noble  use  to  keep  the  heart  fronl 
sinking  under  the  pressure  of  affliction,  as  the  psalmist  found 
it  to  his  sweet  experience :  "I  had  fainted,  unless  I  had  be- 
lieved to  see  the  goodness  of  the  Lord  in  the  land  of  the  liv- 
ing."   Psa.  27  :  13. 

III.  I  come  to  answer  some  objections  or  excuses  of  faint- 
ing believers,  which  they  commonly  allege  as  the  ground  of 
their  discouragement  in  their  afflictions. 

Objection  1 .  0,  saith  one,  my  afflictions  are  not  ordinary ; 
they  are  sore  burdens  I  lie  under,  and  of  various  kinds  too. 

Answer  1.  0  believer,  God  hath  taken  the  ordering  of 
your  lot  in  his  own  hand,  and  he  knows  what  is  fittest  for 
you.  Should  a  man  be  left  to  carve  out  his  own  portion,  it 
would  soon  appear  he  would  be  his  own  greatest  enemy. 
We  would  all  be  for  the  dainties  of  pleasure  and  prosperity, 
which  would  not  be  for  our  soul's  health — as  children  think 
green  fruit  the  best  diet,  because  it  pleases  their  taste  :  but 
their  parents  are  wiser  to  keep  it  from  them. 

2.  God  may  see  you  have  many  and  strong  lusts  to  be 
subdued,  and  that  you  need  many  and  sore  afflictions  to  bring 
them  down.  Your  pride  and  obstinacy  of  heart  may  be 
strong,  your  distempers  deeply  rooted,  and  therefore  the  med- 
icine must  be  proportioned  to  them,  as  with  the  Israelites  : 
"  Because  they  rebelled  against  the  words  of  God,  and  con- 
temned the  counsels  of  the  Most  High,  therefore  he  brought 
down  their  heart  with  labor."  Psa.  107  :  11,  12.  0  be- 
liever, your  God  and  Father,  that  hath  the  mixing  of  your 
cup  and  portion,  is  a  wise  and  skilful  Physician,  who  knows 
your  constitution  and  your  need.  "If  need  be,  you  are  in 
heaviness  through  manifold  temptations."  1  Pet.  1  :  6.  And 
as  he  knows  your  need,  so  he  understands  your  strength. 
"  God  is  faithful,  who  will  not  suffer  you  to  be  tempted  above 
that  ve  are  able."    1  Cor.  10  :  13  .     .  ,    .,  - 


BELIEVERS  IN  AFFLICTION.  75 

3.  God  sends  great  and  sore  troubles,  that  you  may  have 
the  more  experience  of  his  wisdom  and  mercy  in  your  sup- 
port and  deliverance  :  "  Thou  which  hast  showed  me  great 
and  sore  troubles,  shalt  quicken  me  again,  and  shalt  bring 
me  up  again  from  the  depths  of  the  earth."    Psa.  71  :  20. 

Objection  2.  But,  saith  another,  my  affliction  is  singu- 
lar, there  was  never  any  in  my  condition. 

Answer  1.  It  is  very  common  for  a  man  in  great  dis- 
tress to  reckon  his  case  singular,  because  he  feels  best  what 
is  nearest  to  himself,  but  is  a  stranger  to  what  his  neigh- 
bor feels. 

2.  This  suggestion  is  one  of  Satan's  devices,  that  he  may 
tempt  the  child  of  God  to  question  his  Father's  love  ;  but  he 
is  a  liar,  and  not  to  be  credited  in  what  he  saith  ;  for  others 
of  your  brethren  have  been  afflicted  in  the  same  kind  and 
degree,  if  not  worse  :  "  Knowing  that  the  same  afflictions 
are  accomplished  in  your  brethren  that  are  in  the  world." 
1  Pet.  5:9. 

3.  Whatever  your  case  be,  you  must  own  your  sufferings 
are  not  so  great  as  your  sins.  The  trials  of  God's  people 
in  Babylon  were  singular  ;  yet  Ezra  owns,  *'  Thou  hast  pun- 
ished, us  less  than  our  iniquities  deserve."  Ezra  9:13.  If 
our  provoked  Judge  shall  in  his  clemency  send  us  to  Babylon 
instead  of  hell,  we  have  no  cause  to  complain. 

4.  But,  0  child  of  God,  however  thou  complainest  of  the 
singularity  of  affliction  now,  all  such  complaints  will  be 
taken  out  of  thy  mouth  ere  long ;  and  the  time  is  near  when 
thou  shalt  be  made  to  wonder  at  the  wisdom  of  God  in  guid- 
ing so  many  sons  and  daughters  ta  glory,  through  such  a 
variety  of  trials,  exercises,  afflictions,  and  temptations  ;  and 
you  shall  be  made  to  say,  like  those  in  Mark  7  :  37,  *'  He 
hath  done  all  things  well." 

Objection  3.  But,  saith  one,  my  affliction  is  loilg  con- 
tinued, and  I  see  no  way  of  escape ;  and  how  can  I  but 
faint  under  it  ? 


76  AFFLICTED  MAN'S   COMPANION. 

Answer  1 .  It  is  not  so  long  as  your  sins  deserve  :  for 
injustice  it  might  be  for  ever;  it  might  be  "the  worm  that 
never  dieth,  and  the  fire  that  is  never  quenched." 

2.  Your  sufferings  on  earth  are  not  so  long  as  your 
reward  in  heaven.  "  For  I  reckon  that  the  sufferings  of  this 
present  time  are  not  worthy  to  be  compared  with  the  glory 
which  shall  be  revealed  in  us."     Rom.  8  :  18. 

3.  No  length  or  continuance  of  affliction  here  should 
hinder  a  beUever's  comforts.  If  we  take  a  view  of  our  head 
and  pattern  Jesus  Christ,  how  long  did  his  afflictions  con- 
tinue I  No  end  was  put  to  them,  till  he  cried  with  a  loud 
voice,  and  gave  up  the  ghost.  Though  he  was  the  Son  of 
God,  yet  from  the  hour  of  his  birth  to  the  moment  of  his 
death,  from  his  manger  to  his  cross,  his  afflictions  still  in- 
creased, and  he  ended  hi^  days  in  the  midst  of  them.  Now, 
Christ  is  the  Head  of  the  church,  and  your  great  Represent- 
ative, 0  believers,  into  a  conformity  with  whom  you  are 
predestinated ;  be  content,  then,  to  be  like  your  Head  and 
Pattern,  and  have  no  ease  or  rest  from  afflictions  till  you  lie 
down  in  the  grave.  It  is  "there  the  wicked  cease  from 
troubUng,  and  there  the  weary  be  at  rest."     Job  3  :  17. 

4.  Remember,  that  your  afflictions  are  a' part  of  Christ's 
cross,  which  your  loving  Redeemer  hath  contrived  for  your 
good,  and  hath  appointed  you  to  take  up  and  bear  with  him. 
Now,  love  to  Christ  should  keep  you  from  wearying  to  bear 
a  part  of  Christ's  cross,  especially  when  he  himself  bears  the 
heaviest  end  of  it ;  nay,  bears  you  and  your  cross  both.  It 
is  said  of  Jacob,  that  "  he  served  seven  years  for  Rachel, 
and  they  seemed  to  him  but  a  few  days,  for  the  love  he  had 
to  her."  Gen.  29  :  20.  And  shall  we  not  endure  a  few  years' 
affliction  for  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  lived  a  life  of  sor- 
rows, and  died  a  cursed  death  for  our  sakes  ?  Had  we  more 
love  to  Christ,  his  cross  would  not  be  so  irksome  to  us. 

5.  Should  it  not  be  good  news  to  thee,  that  there  is  a 
deliverance  for  thee  at  death  from  all  thy  troubles,. and  that 


BELIEVERS   IN   AFFLICTION.  77 

this  time  is  hastening,  and  very  near  ?  Be  not  anxious-  for 
dehverance  here  in  tim^,  for  that  savors  too  much  of  unbe- 
lief and  love  to  the  world.  Doth  it  not  seem  to  say,  that 
you  would  be  better  content  to  be  turned  back  again  to  the 
stormy  tumultuous  sea  of  this  world,  than  to  be  safely  landed 
at  your  rest  above  ;  that  you  would  be  happier  of  a  few  tem- 
poral mercies  on  earth,  than  to  enter  upon  your  eternal  in- 
heritance with  Christ  ? 

Objection  4.  No  wonder,  saith  one,  that  I  faint  under 
my  affliction,  for  I  want  those  consolations  and  supports 
which  God  useth  to  reserve  for  afflicted  saints. 

Answer  1 .  If  God  be  now  chastening  you  for  your  sins, 
you  must  be  content  to  feel  the  bitterness  of  sin,  before  you 
can  taste  of  the  sweetness  of  God's  consolations. 

2.  Can  you  say  that  your  afflictions  have  duly  humbled 
you,  and  fitted  you  for  comfort  ?  Have  they  yet  brought 
you  to  a  willingness  to  quit  and  renounce  all  your  beloved 
siiis,  and  even  to  part  with  all  your  earthly  enjoyments  and 
comforts  at  God's  call,  and  be  content  with  God  in  Christ 
alone  for  your  happiness  and  portion  ?  If  this  be  not  done, 
your  afflictions  have  not  had  their  due  effect  to  prepare  you 
for  comfort,  and  till  then  you  cannot  expect  it.  You  are  in 
the  hands  of  a  wise  and  skilful  Physician,  who  will  not  too 
hastily  heal  and  bind  up  your  sores,  so  as  to  let  them  spoil 
and  fester  at  the  bottom. 

3.  Though  you  should  have  no  sensible  consolations  from 
God  in  your  present  trials,  yet  you  must  still  labor  to  keep 
in  the  way  of  duty,  and  live  by  faith  on  his  promises.  Be- 
lieve firmly  that  God  is  good  to  them  that  love  hjm,  and 
that  there  is  forgiveness  with  him  for  the  penitent  sinner. 
And  if  all  stars  withdraw  their  hght  while  you  are  in  God's 
way,  then  assure  yourself  the  sun  is  near  the  rising. 

Objection  5.  But  my  affliction  is  such  that  it  disables 
me  from  duty,  and  makes  me  useless  and  unprofitable ;  and 
this  makes  me  faint  under  my  burden. 


78  AFFLICTED  MAN'S   COMPANION. 

Answer  1.  God  sends  afflictions  not  to  unfit,  but  to 
quicken  you  for  the  performance  of  duty — to  make  you  re- 
pent more  thoroughly,  pray  more  fervently,  flee  to  Christ 
more  earnestly,  and  mind  heaven  more  intensely. 

2.  If  it  be  your  duty  to  others  that  your  affliction  inca- 
pacitates you  for,  then  remember,  if  God  in  his  providence 
disable  you  for  that,  it  is  no  longer  a  duty  incumbent  on  you, 
and  you  must  not  grudge  if  God  take  you  off",  and  put  others 
in  your  room.  God  is  a  free  and  sovereign  agent,  and  will 
be  tied  to  no  means  or  instruments  whatsoever  for  carrying 
on  his  work. 

Direction  2.  Let  the  children  of  God  be  exemplary  in  patience 
and  submission  to  God  under  their  affliction. 

1  treated  of  patience,  and  gave  some  motives  and  helps 
to  it,  to  all  afflicted  persons  in  general,  Chapter  II.,  Direction 
5.  But  here  I  shall  bring  some  special  arguments  to  Chris- 
tian patience  and  submission  proper  for  believers.  You  for 
whom  God  hath  done  so  much  beyond  others,  ought  to  shine 
in  this  grace  of  patience,  and  be  examples  to  others  in  it 
when  God  chastens  you,  though  it  be  with  very  sore  afflic- 
tion. 

1 .  Study  patience  under  affliction ;  for  it  is  the  common 
path  and  beaten  road  to  heaven  that  all  the  saints  have 
trod,  who  have  gone  thither  before  you.  Behold  the  print 
of  the  footsteps  of  all  the  cloud  of  witnesses  in  this  road ; 
and  would  you  be  singular,  and  choose  a  way  of  your  own  ? 
When  God  solemnly  renewed  his  covenant  with  Abraham, 
and  he  had  prepared  the  sacrifice  whereby  it  was  to  be  rati- 
fied and  confirmed,  God  made  a  smoking  furnace  to  pass 
between  the  pieces  of  the  sacrifice,  Gen.  15  :  17,  to  let  him 
know  that  there  was  a  furnace  of  affliction  attending  the 
covenant  of  grace  and  peace,  and  all  that  entered  thereinto. 
God  has  appointed  that  all  the  stones  of  this  spiritual  and- 
heavenly  building  shall  be  hewed  and  polished  by  affliction 


BELIEVERS  IN  AFFLICTION.  79 

here  ;  and  we  are  not  to  think  that  G,od's  ordinary  way  will 
be  changed  for  us.  We  must  not  think  to  walk  on  roses 
when  so  many  worthies  have  marched  through  briers  and 
thorns  to  heaven. 

2.  Consider,  that  the  greatest  afflictions  you  meet  with  are 
consistent  with  the  love  of  Grod,  nay,  spring  from  his  love  to 
you.  Every  sanctified  rod  is  a  gift  and  royal  donation  sent 
by  the  hand  of  God  to  you.  "  To  you  it  is  given,  in  behalf  of 
Christ,  not  only  to  believe  on  him,  but  also  to  suffer  for  his 
sake."  Phil.  1  :  29.  Now  surely,  if  we  look  on  the  cross 
as  a  gift,  an  honor,  an  advantage,  and  blessing,  we  should 
bear  it  patiently.  "  Blessed  is  the  man  whom  thou  chasten- 
est,  0  Lord."  Psa.  94  :  12.  0  believer,  thy  temporal  cross 
•  comes  from  the  same  love  that  thy  eternal  crown  comes 
from,  according  to  Rev.  3  :  19,  21.  Men  will  not  take  pains 
to  correct  stubborn  servants,  but  will  turn  them  out  of  doors ; 
but  love  constrains  them  to  chastise  their  sons.  God  lets 
many  a  sinner  go  unpunished  in  this  world  ;  for  why  should 
he  prune  or  dress  the  tree  which  he  will  cast  into  the  fire  ? 
The  malefactor  that  is  condemned  to  the  gallows  escapes 
scourging.  "  The  wicked  is  reserved  to  the  day  of  destruc- 
tion ;  they  shall  be  brought  forth  to  the  day  of  wrath." 
Job  21  :  30.  But  it  is  far  otherwise  with  the  children  of 
God.  That  is  a  strange  word  which  Job  hath,  chap.  7  :  17, 
18,  "What  is  man,  that  thou  shouldest  magnify  him;  and 
that  thou  shouldest  set  thy  heart  upon  him  ;  and  that  thou 
shouldest  visit  him  every  morning,  and  try  him  every  mo- 
ment?" Now,  if  we  compare  this  place  with  others  in  the 
context,  we  shall  see  how  he  acknowledgeth  that  the  most 
overwhelming  distress  proceeds  from  the  love  and  care  of 
God,  yea,  from  his  fixing  his  heart  on  a  man,  to  magnify 
him  and  do  him  good  ;  and  that  for  this  end  he  doth  chasten 
him  every  morning  and  try  him  every  moment ;  and  that 
with  such  afflictions  as  for  the  present  are  so  far  from  being 
joyous,  that  they  give  the  soul  no  rest,  but  even  make  the 


80  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

man  weary  of  his  life — as  he  expresseth  what  effect  his 
affliction  had  on  himself  Yea,  it  may  be  observed  in  the 
providence  of  God  from  the  foundation  of  the  world,  that 
those  who  have  had  most  affliction,  have  had  most  grace 
and  the  most  eminent  testimonies  of  acceptance  with  God. 
Jesus  Christ  the  Son  of  God  had  the  most  afflictions  of  any, 
and  yet  the  Father  always  loved  him  and  was  well  pleased 
with  him. 

3.  Consider  the  bright  examples  of  patience  which  God 
sets  before  you  in  his  word.  Besides  that  of  his  dear  Son 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  of  which  I  spoke  before,  consider  the 
patience  of  Job,  when  he  was  stript  of  all  earthly  comforts, 
and  laid  under  the  greatest  afflictions ;  yet,  he  calmly  falls 
down  and  worships  God,  and  says,  "Naked  came  I  out  of 
my  mother's  womb,  and  naked  shall  I  return :  The  Lord 
gave,  and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away ;  blessed  be  the  name 
of  the  Lord.  In  all  this  Job  sinned  not,  nor  charged  God 
foolishly."  Job  1:21,  Consider  the  patience  of  David 
when  he  was  driven  from  his  throne,  from  his  house,  and 
from  God's  sanctuary,  and  all  this  by  his  own  son  ;  yet  how 
submissive  is  he  to  God:  "Behold,  here  am  I;  let  him  do 
to  me  as  seemeth  good  unto  him."  2  Sam.  15  :  26.  And 
when  Shimei  cursed  him  and  threw  stones  at  him,  he  pa- 
tiently bore  it  and  would  suffer  no  harm  to  be  done  him  for 
it,  saying,  "  Let  him  alone,  and  let  him  curse,  for  the  Lord 
hath  bidden  him."  2  Sam.  16:11.  Consider  the  patience 
of  holy  Eli,  when,  though  he  heard  such  news  as,  like  a  sud- 
den clap  of  thunder,  made  the  ears  of  such  as  heard  it  to 
tingle  and  their  hearts  to  tremble,  yet  he  calmly  and  quietly 
submitted  to  it :  "It  is  the  Lord  ;  let  him  do  what  seemeth 
him  good."  1  Sam.  3:18.  He  doth  not  fly  in  God's  face 
in  a  passion,  but  falls  down  at  his  feet  in  humble  submis- 
sion. Observe  also  the  wonderful  patience  of  Aaron,  when 
God  afflicted  him  very  sore  :  he  is  silent  and  submissive 
under  the  Lord's  hand.      "And  Aaron  held  his   peace." 


"     .RELIEVERS  IN   AFFLICTION.  81 

Lev.  10:3.  If  we  consider  the  greatness  of  the  punish- 
ment, we  shall  see  the  more  cause  to  commend  the  greatness 
of  his  patience.  Aaron  lost  his  children — not  his  estate  or 
worldly  sulDstance,  but  his  children  ;  these  are  a  part  of  a 
man's  bowels  :  other  earthly  losses  are  not  comparable  to 
this;  therefore  it  was  that  Satan,  that  cunning,  enemy, 
reserved  the  loss  of  Job's  children  to  the  last  onset,  as. his 
great  masterpiece  and  sharpest  attack.  How  sadly  did 
Rachel  lament  and  weep  for  her  children.  Matt.  2:18. 
Yet  Aaron  held  his  peace.  Aaron  lost  his  two  sons  at  once. 
How  pathetically  did  David  bewail  the  loss  of  one  son  :  "  0 
my  son  Absalom  I  my  son,  my  son  Absalom  I  would  God  I 
had  died  for  thee,  0  Absalom,  my  son,  my  son  I"  2  Sam. 
18  :  33.  Yet  Aaron  lost  both  his  sons  together,  and  saith 
not  one  word.:  ^'He  held  his  peace."  Aaron  lost  them  by 
a  sudden  death,  of  which  he  had  no  warning.  Sickness 
usually  prepare?  men  for  the  stroke  that  is  coming  by  death ; 
but  Aaron  met  v^ith  a  surprising  blo-vv,  ye|;  he  held  his  peace. 
Aaron's  sons  were  not  taken  away  by  an  ordinary  stroke  of 
God's  hand,  but  by  a?!  extraordinary  supernatural  rod ; 
for  it  is  said,  "  There  went  out  fire  from  the  Lord,  and  de- 
voured them,  and  they  died  before  the  Lord."  Lev.  10  :  2. 
He  lost  them  in  such  a  manner  as  might  speak  forth  God's 
anger.  Now  a  religious  father  had  rather  lose  all  his  chil- 
dren in  the  favor  of  God,  than  one  child  in  his  anger ;  yet, 
whatever  were  the  bitter  ingredients  of  this  cup^  Aaron  was 
not  impatient  against  God  that  mixed  it  for  him,  but  held 
his  peace  because  God  did  it. 

4.  To  engage  you  to  patience  under  your  trials,  do  but 
compare  your  case  with  that  of  others.  Do  not  say,  there 
are  none  afflicted  as  you  are  ;  for  there  are  many  plunged 
far  deeper  in  the  waters  of  Mara  than  you  are  :  some  are 
still  upon  the  rack,  and  spend  their  whole  days  and  years  in 
continual  fighting  and  struggling;  as  in  Psalm  31  :  10 : 
"  My  life  is  spent  with  grief  and  my  years  with  sighing." 

4* 


82  AFFLIOTEIi  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

Have  you  sore  distress  in  your  body  ?  others  have  grievous 
wounds  in  their  souls.  Do  you  bear  the  wrath  of  man  ? 
others  bear  the  wrath  of  God.  You  have  but  one  single 
trial ;  others  have  many  twisted  together.  Some  are  stript 
of  all  comforts ;  you  have  comforts  still  remaining.  You 
may  have  many  sad  things  in  your  trial,  but  you  have  not 
ground  as  yet  to  complain  as  the  psalmist  doth:  "All  thy 
waves  and  thy  billows  are  gone  over  me."  Psalm  42  :  7. 
Take  a  view  of  what  the  Son  of  God,  what  the  apostles,  and 
what  the  martyrs  and  other  worthies  have  endured.  They 
had  trial  of  cruel  mockings,  scourgings,  bonds,  and  imprison- 
ments :  they  wandered  in  deserts  and  mountains,  and  in 
dens  and  caves  of  the  earth,  being  destitute,  afflicted,  tor- 
mented. They  were  tempted,  they  were  crucified,  stoned  to 
death,  sawn  asunder,  slain  with  the  sword,  etc.  And  yet, 
how  well  did  they  bear  the  cross!"  Saith  Paul,  "We  glory 
in  tribulation."  Rom.  5:3.  And  what  saith  James? 
"  My  brethren,  count  it  all  joy  when  ye  fall  into  divers  temp- 
tations," James  1  :  2.  As  if  he  had  said,  Rejoice,  aye,  more 
and  more,  that  you  are  afflicted  ;  God  is  magnifying  you,  he 
is  visiting  you,  doing  you  good,  taking  the  more  pains  with 
you,  and  fitting  you  for  glory. 

5.  The  consideration  of  God's  former  mercies  aiid  kind- 
nesses to  you  should  engage  you  to  patience  in  trouble,  and 
make  you  blush  to  take  any  thing  ill  out  of  God's  hand. 
Thus  Job  taught  his  impatient  wife :  "  What-  shall  we  re- 
ceive good  at  the  hand  of  God,  and  shall  we  not  receive 
evil  ?"  Job  2:10.  0  believer,  let  not  thy  afflictions  cause 
thee  to  bury  thy  mercies  in  oblivion.  Has  not  God  brought 
thee  from  Satan's  family  and  put  thee  among  his  children ; 
and  will  you  forget  or  undervalue  that  honor?  Hath  he 
struck  off  your  fetters,  taken  off  your  prison-garments,  and 
set  you  at  liberty  ;  and  will  you  be  unthankful  ?  Hath  he 
giveii  you  Christ  for^our  treasure  and  portion,  entitled  you 
to  his  unsearchable  riches;  and  will  you  be  discontented? 


BELIEVERS  IN   AFFLICTION.  83 

Hath  he  given  you  the  graces  of  his  Spirit,  which  are  more 
precious  than  rubies  ;  and  will  you  quarrel  when  he  smites 
in  some  outward  things  ?  Hath  he  made  you  an  heir  of 
glory,  and  provided  eternal  mansions  above  for  you  ;  and 
will  you  be  fretful  for  want  of  some  trifles  here  ?,  The  view 
Moses  had  of  the  recompense  of  reward  in  heaven,  caused 
him  to  choose  to  suffer  affliction  patiently  with  the  people 
of  God. 

6.  The  time  of  affliction  is  usually  God's  gracious  season 
of  rneeting  with  his  people,  the  time  of  their  rarest  comforts 
and  sweetest  foretastes  of  heaven,  according  to  2  Cor,  1  : 5. 
Paul  a,nd  Silas  did  never  sing  more  joyfully  than  when  they 
were  laid  in  the  inner  prison,  with  their  backs  torn  with 
scourges,  and  their  feet  fast  in  the  stocks.  Acts  16:24. 
And  when  was  it  that  Jacob  saw  the  angels  of  God  ascend- 
ing and  descending  upon  the  ladder  that  reached  between 
heaven  and  earth,  but  at  the  time  when  he  was  in  a  desti- 
tute case,  forced  to  lie  in  the  open  field,  having  no  canopy 
but  the  heavens  and  no  pillow  but  a  stone  ?  When  was  it 
that  the  three  children  saw  Christ  in  the  likeness  of  the  Son 
of  God  with  them,  but  when  they  were  in  the  furnace,  and 
that  when  it  was  hotter  than  ordinary  ?  When  was  it  that 
Ezekiel  had  a  vision  of  God,  but  when  sitting  solitary  by  the 
river  Chebar  in  the  land  of  his  captivity  ?  .  When  tvas  it 
that  John  got  a  glorious  vision  of  Christ,  but  when  he  was 
an  exile  in  the  isle  of  Pat mos  ?  And  when  was  it  that 
IStejphen  saw  the  heavens  opened,  and  Christ  standing  at 
the  right  hand  of  God  pleading  for  him,  but  when  they  were 
stoning  and  bruising  him  to  death  ?  So  that  the  most 
remarkable  experiences  of  God's  kindness  that  believers  get 
in  this  world,  have  been  reserved  to  the  time  of  affliction ; 
and  this  consideration  should  move  every  Christian  to  wait 
on  the  Lord,  and  bear  his  cross  with  patience. 

7.  When  you  are  helped  to  Christian  patience  and  sub- 
mission under  Ood's  hand,  it  doth  contribute  much  to  the 


84  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

credit  of  religion,  and  to  the  conviction  of  the  world,  that 
there  is  a  reality  in  the  truths  of  the  gospel,  and  a  great 
efficacy  in  the  grace  of  God,  which  bears  you  up  and  carries 
you  through  beyond  the  strength  of  nature.-  ;  / 

8.  0  believer,  bear  up  with  patience  under  the  cross,  for 
thou  hast  not  long  to  bear  it.  God's  wrath  abideth  on  the 
church  but  for  a  moment,  yea,  a  little  moment,  "  Come, 
my  people,  enter  thou  into  thy  chambers,  and  shut  thy  doors 
about  thee  ;  hide  thyself  as  it  were  for  a  little  moment,  until 
the  indignation  be  overpast."  Isa.  26  :  20.  Surely  a  mo- 
ment, a  little  moment,  which  is  the  smallest  part  of  time, 
will  soon  be  over;  and  wilt  thou  not  have  patience  for  a 
moment  ?  The  psalmist  supported  himself  with  this  consid- 
eration: '^He  will  not  always  chide,  neither  will  he  keep  his 
anger  for  ever."  Psalm  103  :  9.  The  time  of  indignation 
will  soon  be  overpast,  and  the  time  of  consolation  will  suc- 
ceed. 0  believer,  the  end  of  all  thy  trials  is  near  ;  think  on 
it,  and  look  for  it.  Is  it  bodily  pain  or  sickness  that  is  thy 
affliction  ?  Then  consider,  the  end  of  it  will  be  either  life  or 
death ;  if  death,  then  what  thou  sufferest  is  the  last  brunt, 
bear  it  patiently.  These  enemies  you  now  see,  you  will  see 
them  again  no  more.  In  the  mansions  above  there  is  no 
pain  nor  crying  :  the  inhabitants  there  shall  never  say  they 
are  sick  ;  and  one  hour  with  them  will  make  thee  forget  all 
thy  momentary  afflictions.  If  the  issue  shall  be  life,  you 
will  be  ashamed,  when  well,  that  you  had  no  more  patience 
while  sick. 

I  shall  close  this  direction  with  the  words  of  the  apostle 
James  :  "Take,  my  brethren,  the  prophets  who  have  spoken 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  for  an  example  of  suffering  afflic- 
tion and  of  patience.  Behold,  we  count  them  happy  which 
endure.  Ye  have  heard  of  the  patience  of  Job,  and  have 
seen  the  end  of  the  Lord  ;  that  the  Lord  is. very  pitiful,  and 
of  tender  mercy."    Jas,  5  :  10,  11.  '.^  >.v^'- '•  ^ 


BELIEVERS  IN  AFFLICTION.  85 

Direction  3.  Let  believers  be  much  employed  in  the  praises  of 
God,  while  they  are  under  affliction  by  sickness  or  otherwise. 

As  we  should  bless  the  Lord  at  all  times,  and  keep  up 
good  thoughts  of  God  on  every  occasion,  so  especially  in  the 
time  of  affliction.  Hence  we  are  commanded  to  glorify  the 
Lord  in  the  fires.  Isa.  24  :  15.  And  this  the  three  children 
did  in  the  hottest  furnace.  So  Job  blessed  God  when  he 
had  taken  away  his  greatest  comforts.  Job  1  :  21.  And  this 
is  agreeable  to  the  command,  "  In  every  thing  give  thanks." 
1  Thess.  5  :  18.  I  grant,  indeed,  we  cannot  give  thanks  for 
affliction  as  affliction,  but  either  as  it  is  the  means  of  some 
good  to  us,  or  as  the  gracious  hand  of  God  is  some  way 
observable  therein  towards  us.  In  this  respect  there  is  no 
condition  on  this  side  of  hell,  but  we  have  cause  to  praise 
God  in  it,  even  in  the  greatest  calamities.  Hence  it  was 
that  David,  when  he  speaks  of  his  affliction,  Psa.  119  :  67, 
adds  presently,  "Thou  art  good,  and  doest  good."  And 
he  declares,  verse  65,  "Thou  hast  dealt,  well  with  thy  ser- 
vant, 0  Lord,  according  unto  thy  word."  Hence  Paul  and 
Silas  praised  God  when  they  were  scourged  and  impris- 
oned. Well  then,  0  believer,  obey  the  command  of  thy 
God,  and  imitate  his  worthies  by  praising  God  under  thy 
affliction.     For, 

1.  This  practice  would  be  very  pleasant  and  acceptable 
to  God  :  for  as  music  is  sweetest  on  the  waters,  so  praise  is 
most  agreeable  to  God  from  an  afflicted  soul  on  the  waters 
of  trouble.  It  is  a  sign  of  a  noble  and  generous  spirit,  to  sing 
the  praises  of  God's  goodness  while  his  hand  is  afflicting  us. 
Distress  and  danger  will  make  the  most  wicked  man  pray ; 
but  it  is  a  principle  of  love  and  gratitude  that  makes  the 
troubled  soul  to  praise. 

2.  It  would  bring  credit  to  religion,  to  see  saints  thank- 
ful and  praising  God  under  the  cross  :  it  would  make  people 
say.  Surely  they  find  sweetness  in  God  and  his  ways,  that  we 
see  not ;  they  have  meat  to  eat  that  the  world  knows  not  of. 


86  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

And  this  would  invite  strangers  to  come  and  try  a  religious 
life.  The  joyful  praises  of  the  martyrs  at  the  stakes  and  in 
the  flames,  made  people  go  home  with  love  to  religion  in 
their  hearts. 

3.  If  the  issue  of  your  affliction  should  be  death,  this 
employment  of  praise  would  he  a  sweet  preparative  to  fit 
and  dispose  you  for  the  work  of  heaven.  Use  yourself  much 
to  this  heavenly  life,  and  be  oft  trying  to  sing  the  song. of 
Moses  and  the  Lamb  in  the  time  of  sickness  and  trouble ; 
and  this  would  sweeten  the  thoughts  of  death,  and  make  you 
incline  to  be  there,  where  praise  is  their  constant  work. 

Question.  What  should  be  the  subject  of  a  believer's 
thanksgiving  and  praise  under  atfliction  ? 

Answer  1.  He  hath  ground  of  praise  on  account  of  God's 
mercies  to  him  through  his  past  life.  His  mercies  to  thee, 
0  believer,  cannot  be  numbered  :  compare  thy  mercies  with 
thy  crosses,  and  thou  wilt  soon  see  thy  receivings  are  far 
greater  than  thy  sufferings.  Thou  hast  had  many  days  of 
plenty  for  one  day  of  scarcity,  many  days  of  liberty  for  one 
day  of  straits^  many  days  of  health  for  one  day  of  sickness. 
And  are  not  these  to  be  remembered  with  praise  ? 

2.  And  more  particularly  in  thy  greatest  affliction,  thou 
hast  ground  to  praise  God,  0  believer,  that  thou  wast  born 
in  a  land  of  light,  where  thou  hadst  the  means  of  conversion 
to  God  and  acquaintance  with  Jesus  Christ ;  and  especially, 
that  God  of  his  free  grace  made  these  means  effectual  to 
work  a  saving  change  in  you,  when  others  were  passed  by. 
Is  not  this  matter  of  praise,  that  he  opened  your  eyes  and 
humbled  your  soul  and  renewed  your  heart ;  that  he  gave 
you  Christ,  forgave  your  sins,  and  adopted  you  into  his  fam- 
ily,  and  made  you  an  heir  of  heaven  ?  Oh  what  a  sad  cas^ 
would  it  be  if  you  were  yet  in  your  sins,  and  in  the  bondage 
of  Satan — if  you  had  the  work  of  conversion  to  begin,  if  you 
had  your  faith  and  justification  and  interest  in  Christ  all  to 
seek,  and  all  your  preparation  for  heaven  to  make — if  you 


BELIEVERS  IN  AFFLICTION.  87 

had  all  this  to  do  with  a  sick  and  pained  body,  and  a  disor- 
dered mind  that  cannot  command  one  sett^led  thought,  with 
the  terrible  views  of  death  and  eternity  before  your  eyes: 
this  is  the  case  that  God  in  justice  might  have  l$ft  you  to, 
"Well,  then,  ought  you  not  to  praise  God,  that  sent  his -Holy 
Spirit  in  time  to  determine  your  heart  to  close  with  Christ, 
and  be  reconciled  to  that  God  before  whom  you  are  shortly 
to  appear ;  and  that  the  sins  which  now  would  have  been 
your  terror,  are  all  forgiven  and  washed  away  through  the 
blood  of  Jesus  Christ  ? 

3.  Is  it  not  matter  of  praise  in  thy  greatest  trouble,  that 
thou  hast  a  great  High-priest,  that  is  passed  into  the  heavens 
to  provide  a  mansion  with  the  Father  for  thee,  and  to  re- 
ceive thy  soul  when  separated  from  the  body ;  that  where 
he  is,  there  you  may  be  also  ? 

4.  You  have  cause  to  bless  God  that  he  sends  such  suit- 
able harbingers  as  sickness  and  trouble  to  tell  you  that  death 
is  approaching,  and  that  he  should  take  such  pains  with  you 
to  wean  you  from  the  world,  and  make  you  willing  to  be 
gone.  Many  of  God's  people,  that  at  the  beginning  of  a  sick- 
ness have  been  averse  to  dying,  by  the  increase  and  continu- 
ance of  it  have  been  brought  to  be  well  satisfied  to  depart, 
that  they  may  be  with  Christ. 

5.  You  have  ground  to  bless  God  for  timing  your  afflic- 
tions so  well,  that  he  sent  them  not  till  he  saw  you  stood  in 
need  of  them.  He  saw  a  "  need  be"  for  them,  as  in  1  Pet. 
1  :  6,  and  he  would  not  let  you  want  what  was  needful. 

6.  You  ought  to  praise  God  that  he  mitigates  your  trials, 
and  proportions  your  burden  for  your  back ;  that  when  he 
takes  the  rod  to  you,  he  hath  not  made  it  a  scorpion;  that 
when  he  deprived  you  of  one  comfort  and  enjoyment,  he  did 
not  strip  you  of  all,  and  leave  you  wholly  comfortless ;  that 
when  you  suffer  in  one  thing,  he  hath  not  made  you  to  suffer 
in  every  thing — ^in  soul,  body,  estate,  relations,  and  all  to- 
gether ;  that  instead  of  afflicting  you  for  a  few  days,  he  hath 


88  AFFLICT^ED  MAN'S   COMPANION. 

not  made  your  whole  life  a  scene  of  misery  and  affliction. 
Bless  God  that  he  punisheth  you  less,  unspealmbly  less  than 
your  iniquities  deserve;  that  your  sick-bed  is  not  hell,  your 
fever  is  not  everlasting  burnings,  your  pain  is  not  the  gnaw^- 
ing  of  the  worm  that  never  dieth." 

7.  You  have  cause  to  praise  God  that  your  affliction  is 
not  so  great  as  that  of  some  others,  and  even  of  some  that 
were  very  dear  to  God,  and  had  not  grieved  him  so  much 
as  you  have  done.  Remember  the  trials,  that  some  have 
endured  of  whom  the  world  was  not  worthy,  which  I  men- 
tioned before,  as  recorded  Hebrews  11.  Yours  are  nothing 
to  theirs,  nothing  to  those  of  Job,  that  eminent  .servant  of 
God.     Observe  the  difference  with  thanksgiving  and  praise. 

8.  You  have  reason  to  bless  God  for  the  strength  and 
support  he  hath  given  you  under  affliction.  You  would  soon 
sink  and  succumb  under  a  small  burden,  if  he  did  not  sup- 
port you  by  his  grace  ;  but  when  he  bears  you  up,  the  heav- 
iest trial  shall  not  sink  you.  Have  you  not  met  with  some 
afflictions,  which  you  thought  at  a  distance  you  would  never 
be  able  to  bear  up  under ;  yet  when  they  came,  you  have 
found  them  light,  by  reason  of  the  strength  God  bestowed 
on  you  ? 

9.  You  have  ground  of  thanksgiving,  because  the  ra^i^ 
cies  and  blessings  which  God  hath  continued  with  you  are 
far  greater  than  those  he  hath  taken  from  you.  For  though 
he  hath  taken  this  and  that  temporal  blessing  from  you,  yet 
he  hath  not  taken  Christ  from  you,  nor  his  Holy  Spirit.  He 
hath  not  separated  you  from  his  love,  nor  cut  you  off  from 
all  hopes  of  heaven.  However  great  your  trials  may  be, 
yet  still  there  is  a  mixture  of  mercy. in  your  lot,  which 
should  be  a  matter  of  praise.  ,  vn^iv^  i-*  ;r^^;:..>-^-:<  --  ,-,i;.  \-^  . 

10.  You  have  cause,  0  believer,  ta  bless  God  that  all 
the  afflictions  he  brings  on  you  are  in  love,  and  for  your 
profit.  All  his  ways  are  mercy  and  trutli  to  you.  If  -he 
smile,  it  is  in  mercy;  and  if  he  smite,  it  is  in  mercy.     God 


BELIEVERS  IN   AFFLICTION.  89 

may  change  his  dispensations  towards  his  children,  but  never 
his  disposition.  His  heart  is  still  towards  them,  and  the 
cords  wherewith  he  scourgeth  them  are  cords  of  love.  Their 
profit  is  the  great  thing  he  aims  at  in  all  his  chastisements. 
Heb.  12  :  10.  He  designs  thereby  to  reclaim  them  from 
their  wanderings,  cut  off  provisions  for  their  lusts,  make 
them  pant  and  long  for  a  better  state,  and  cause  them  to 
mend  their  pace  towards  it.  Hence  David  saith,  "  It  is  good 
for  me  that  I  was  afflicted  :  for  before  I  was  afflicted  I  went 
astray,  but  now  have  I  kept  thy  word."  Psa.  119  :  67,  71. 
From  all  which  it  appears,  that  you  have  manifold  grounds 
of  praise,  even  in  time  of  affliction. 

Direction  4.  Let  the  children  of  God,  when  visited  with  sick- 
ness, set  about  actual  preparation  for  death  and  eternity. 
Every  believer  hath  his  main  work  done,  and  is  always 
in  a  gracious  state,  by  reason  of  his  union  with  Jesus  Christ, 
his  reconciliation  with  God  through  the  merit  of  his  blood, 
and  the  universal  change  that  is  wrought  in  him  by  regen- 
erating and  sanctifying  grace ;  upon  which  account  every 
child  of  God  hath  habitual  preparation  for  meeting  with 
death.  Yet,  because  frequently  when  sickness  cometh  there 
are  many  things  out  of  ordt^r  with  them,  that  make  death 
frightful  and  undesirable,  they  must  set  about  actual  prep- 
aration for  death,  and  seek  to  have  their  souls  made  ready 
for  the  bridegroom's  coming.  And  here  I  shall  show  where- 
in this  actual  readiness  of  believers  doth  consist,  which  should 
be  their  proper  work  and  exercise  in  time  of  sickness,  espe- 
cially when  sickness  is  lingering  and  doth  not  destroy  the 
use  of  reason.  But  beware  of  thinking  that  this  should  be 
delayed  tfll  sickness  come.  No,  no ;  the  time  of  health  is 
the  main  working  season,  and  all  should  be  finished  then 
as  far  as  possible.  But  seeing  even  the  best  generally  find 
much  to  do  at  the  very  last,  I  shall  give  the  following  ad- 
vices for  your  actual  preparation. 

1.  Seemg  sickness  is  a  means  appointed  of  God  for  his 


90  AFFLICTED  MAN'S   COMPANION. 

people's  good,  and  particularly  for  fitting  them  for  a  better 
world,  labor  earnestly  to  reap  the  benefit  of  sickness ;  seek 
God's  blessing  upon  it,  that  thereby  you  may  be  helped  to 
discover  more  of  the  evil  of  sin,  that  you  may  hate  and  abhor 
it  the  more,  and  that  you  may  see  more  efiectually  the  vanity 
and  vexation  of  the  world,  and  get  your  heart  loosed  from 
all  the  things  of  time,  and  brought  to  a  willingness  to  depart, 
that  you  may  be  with  Christ. 

2.  Seeing  the  time  of  sickness  and  death  is  the  time  of 
your  greatest  need,  beg  earnestly  of  God,  for  your  Redeem- 
er's sake,  such  special  assistance,  influences,  and  operations 
of  his  Holy  Spirit,  as  he  knows  needful  for  you  in  your  pres- 
ent low  and  weak  condition,  in  order  to  carry  on  and  com- 
plete your  actual  readiness  for  meeting  with  himself  at  death, 
iand  entering  into  the  invisible  world,  and  being  unalterably 
fixed  in  your  everlasting  state. 

3.  Renew  the  exercise*  of  repentance,  and  of  faith  in  the 
blood  of  Christ,  for  removing  all  grounds  of  quarrel  and 
controversy  between  God  and  your  soul.  And  in  order 
thereto,  review  your  past  life,  and  look  into  your  heart  also, 
and  search  out  every  predominant  sin  and  idol  of  jealousy ; 
for  if  there  be  any  iniquity  regatded  in  your  heart  and  unre- 
pented  of  by  you,  it  may  occasion  no  little  anguish  and  bit- 
terness of  spirit  in  a  dying  hour.  When  thou  hast  discov- 
ered sin,  humbly  confess  and  bewail  it  before  the  Lord,  and 
ask  forgiveness  for  it  through  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  the 
Son  of  God,  which  cleanseth  from  all  sin.  Yea,  make  con- 
fession of  all  thy  own  sins,  and  particularly  reflect  upon  the 
fountain  and  spring  of  them,  thy  original  sin.  Know  the 
plague  of  thine  own  heart,  and  mourn  over  it ;  mourn  for 
the  loss  and  misspending  of  much  precious  time.  Mourn  for 
the  unprofitableness  of  thy  life.  Now,  when  the  axe  is  laid 
to  the  root  of  the  tree  by  sickness,  it  is  high  time  to  mourn 
for  your  unfruitfulness  under  the  grace  and  waterings  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.    Mourn  for  your  sinning  against  such  light  and 


BELIEVERS  IN  AFFLICTION.  91 

love  as  have  been  many  days  displayed  to  you  in  the  glori- 
ous gospel ;  and  in  a  special  manner  mourn  for  your  sins 
of  omission,  which  commonly  are  but  little  minded  by  us. 
Thus  mourn  for  all  thy  sins,  till  thou  dofet  water  thy  couch 
with  tears.  It  is  most  suitable  that  death  should  find  every 
man,  even  every  child  of  God,  in  the  exercise  of  mourning 
and  repentance;  for  they  that  thus  sow  in  tears  shall  eter- 
nally reap  in  joy.  But  see  that  your  tears  run  much  in  the 
gospel  channel,  and  flow  from  believing  views  of  a  crucified 
Christ,  whom  you  have  pierced  by  your  sins.  And  in  the 
midst  of  your  mourning,  be  still  aiming  to  take  faith's  grasp 
of  the  clefts  of  this  rock,  for  sheltering  thy  soul  from  the 
guilt  of  by -past  sins ;  say,  "  Lord  Jesus,  I  have  no  refuge 
but  thy  wounds,  no  fountain  but  thy  blood,  no  covert  but 
thy  righteousness.  And  seeing  thou  freely  makest  offer  of 
thy  merits  for  my  protection,  and  invitest  even  the  chief  of 
sinners  to  come  unto  thee,  saying,  '  Look  unto  me,  and  be  ye 
saved,'  Lord,  I  embrace  the  offer,  and  flee  to  thee  to  cover 
me."  0  believer,  do  this,  not  once  or  twice,  but  do  it  a 
hundred  tiriies  over;  do  it  as  long  as  thou  hast  breath  to 
draw  in  the  world.  Be  still  breathing  to  the  very  last  after 
a  crucified  Jesus  for^^elief  against  the  guilt  of  sin,  which 
thou  art  always  contracting,  and  wilt  be  till  the  earthly 
house  of  this  tabernacle  be  dissolved. 

4.  In  order  to  your  actual  readiness  to  go  forth  to  meet 
the  bridegroom,  when  coming  to  you  by  death,  you  must, 
as  the  wise  virgins  did,  arise  and  trim  your  lamps.  Matt. 
25  :  7.  As  it  is  not  enough  to  have  a  fair  lamp  of  a  profes- 
sion, so  it  is  not  sufficient  to  have  only  the  oil  of  grace  in 
the  lamp  ;  nay,  to  have  it  burning  in  some  degree.  There 
is  more  requisite  at  this  time,  that  the  soul  may  be  actually 
ready ;  the  lamp  must  be  trimmed :  which  imports,  first, 
a  supplying  it  with  more  oil.  You  must  seek  to  have  your 
grace  increased,  to  have  new  strength  and  new  supplies  of 
grace  given  you  from  God,  to  fit  you  for  the  last  conflict 


92  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

with  your  spiritual  enemies,  and  especially  the  last  enemy, 
death.  Secondly,  it  imports  a  stirring  up  of  the  oil,  and 
raising  the  wick  higher.  So  there  must  be  an  excitation  of 
grace,  which  may  be  in  a  low,  decUning  condition  ;  you 
must  endeavor  to  stir  and  raise  it  up  to  a  more  lively  exer- 
cise, and  more  elevated  acts.  "  Stir  up  the  gift  that  is  in 
thee ;"  make  the  oil  burn  clear  and  shine  bright.  Bring 
faith,  love,  repentance,  and  holy  desires  to  a  lively  exercise. 
Thirdly,  this  trimming  imports  the  cleansing  of  the  lamp, 
by  taking  away  the  dead  ashes  that  hinder  the  light,  or  pre- 
vent its  burning  so  clearly  as  it  otherwise  would.  So  you 
must  labor  to  take  away  the  dead  ashes  of  corruption,  that 
hinder  the  shining  of  grace ;  remove  all  unbelief,  earthli- 
ness,  deadness,  self-seeking,  and  formality,  and  whatever 
else  doth  suppress  the  exercise  of  faith,  love,  and  heavenly- 
mindedness  :  let  all  these  dead  ashes  be  snuffed  away  by 
repentance  and  mortification.  As  you  ought  to  strive  ear- 
nestly against  all  these  heart  evils  in  time  of  health,  so  now 
labor  to  give  them  a  deadly  stroke  when  death's  harbinger 
gives  you  a  summons. 

5.  Be  diligent  in  gathering  and  summing  up  all  your 
evidences  for  heaven  and  eternal  life,  that  so  you  may  not 
venture  into  the  dark  valley  at  an  uncertainty.  The  com- 
fort of  dying  will  much  depend  on  the  clearness  of  your  evi- 
dences. It  is  therefore  your  wisdom  to  examine  them  care- 
fully, and  see  if  you  can  say,  "I  know  in  whom  I  have  be- 
lieved ;  I  have  consented  with  my  soul  to  the  method  of 
salvation  laid  down  in  the  covenant  of  grace.  I  am  desirous 
that  the  glory  of  it  should  be  eternally  ascribed  to  the  free 
grace  of  God,  and  the  creature  be  wholly  abased  in  his  sight ; 
I  have  chosen  God  for  my  portion,  and  Christ  for  my  only 
Saviour  ;  and  the  happiness  which  I  aim  at,  is  to  enjoy  God 
in  Christ  for  ever.  And  in  order  thereto,  I  depend  on  the 
Holy  Spirit  to  apply  the  redemption  which  Jesus  Christ  hath 
purchased  for  me,  and  to  sanctify  me  perfectly.     There  is 


BELIEVERS  IN  AFFLICTION.  93 

no  sin  but  what  I  hate,  and  desire  to  part  with.  I  would 
rather  have  more  holiness,  than  to  have  health  and  all  the 
pleasures  in  the  world.  I  earnestly  desire  the  flourishing 
of  Christ's  kingdom,  and  prefer  Jerusalem's  good  to  ray 
chiefest  joy."  If  these  your  evidences  be  clear,  you  may 
cheerfully  take  death  by  the  cold  hand,  and  welcome  its 
grim  messengers,  and  long  to  be  gone  that  you  may  be  with 
Christ.  You  may  say,  "Yea,  though  I  walk  through  the 
valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,  I  will  fear  no  evil,  for  thou 
art  with  me,"  Psalm  23  :  4.  You  may  go  off  the  stage 
with  the  psalmist's  words  in  your  mouth,  "Into  thy  hand  I 
commit  my  spirit ;  thou  hast  redeemed  me,  0  Lord  God  of 
truth."     Psalm  31  :  5. 

6.  Labor  earnestly  to  overcome  the  love  of  life  and  the 
fear  of  death,  so  as  to  be  content  to  part  with  all  things  here 
at  God's  call.  0  believer,  what  is  there  in  this  earth  to 
tempt  thee  to  hang  back,  when  God  calls  you  to  depart? 
While  you  are  here,  you  may  lay  your  account  with  many 
losses,  crosses,  disappointments,  griefs,  and  calamities  of  aU 
sorts.  Friends  will  fail  you,  enemies  will  hate  you,  lusts 
will  molest  you,  Satan  will  tempt  you,  and  the  world  will 
deceive  you.  Death  is  the  way  that  the  dearest  of  God's 
saints  and  all  the  cloud  of  witnesses  have  gone  before  you ; 
yea,  the  Lord  Jesus  your  Head  hath  trod  this  path,  and  hath 
taken  the  sting  out  of  death,  and  hath  paved  a  way  through 
the  dark  valley  that  his  people  may  safely  follow  him. 
Hath  the  Captain  of  your  salvation  gone  before  you,  and  will 
any  of  his  soldiers  shrink  to  follow  him  ?  Are  you  content 
to  remain  always  at  the  same  distance  from  him,  and  to 
enjoy  no  more  of  his  presence  than  now  you  have  ?  Are 
you  satisfied  to  live  for  ever  with  no  more  holiness  or 
heavenly-mindedness  than  at  present  you  have  ?  Do  you 
not  groan  under  your  remaining  ignorance,  deadness,  wan- 
derings, pride,  passion,  unbelief,  selfishness,  worldliness,  and 
other  sins  and  lusts  that  here  beset  you  ?     And  are  you  not 


94  AFFLICTED   MAN'S  COMPANION. 

desirous  to  go  to  the  place  where  you  will  be  eternally  free 
from  them  all,  and  where  you  shall  never  complain  of  a 
dull,  dead,  and  senseless  frame  of  heart,  or  of  any-  heart- 
weariness  or  wandering  in  duty  any  more  ?  For  the  heart 
shall  then  be  as  a  fixed  pillar  in  the  temple  of  God,  and  shall 
go  no  more  out :  the  eternal  adoration  and  praises  of  God 
shall  be  the  soul's  delight  and  element  for  ever.  By  such 
considerations  strive  to  conquer  the  fears  of  death  and  desires 
of  life,  which  are  often  great  clogs  to  the  people  of  God  in 
their  preparations  for  the  eternal  world. 

7.  Be  oft  meditating  upon  the  heavenly  glory  which  all 
believers  will  shortly  see  and  enjoy.  Be  much  in  the  con- 
templation of  the  glorious  company  above  ;  behold  Christ 
upon  his  glorious  throne  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  and  Abra- 
ham, David,  Peter,  Paul,  and  all  the  rest  of  the  faithful  ones, 
with  their  crowns  of  righteousness,  triumphing  in  the  pres- 
ence of  their  Redeemer,  Think,  0  believer,  how  happy  that 
day  will  be,  when  thou  shalt  meet  with  thy  father  and  breth- 
ren, and  shalt  see  thy  elder  Brother  on  the  throne  ready  to 
pass  sentence  in  thy  favor.  With  what  melody  will  that 
sentence  sound  in  thy  ears :  "  Come,  ye  blessed  of  my  Father, 
inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you  from  the  foundation  of 
the  world."  What  frame  wilt  thou  be  in,  when  he  sets  the 
crown  of  glory  on  thy  head  ?  "0  eternally  free  love,"  thou 
wilt  cry,  "0  Saviour,  thou  didst  wear  a  crown  of  thorns, 
that  I  might  wear  a  crown  of  glory  ;  thou  didst  groan  on 
the  cross,  that  I  might  now  sing.  Wonderful  free  love,  that 
chose  me  when  thousands  were  passed  by ;  that  saved  me 
from  ruin,  when  my  companions  in  sin  must  burn  in  hell 
for  ever."  Think  how  ravishing  it  will  be  to  meet  with 
your  godly  acquaintances  in  heaven,  with  whom  you  pray- 
ed, praised,  and  conversed  here.  Will  you  not  then  cry  out, 
"  0  my  brethren,  what  a  change  is  here  ;  this  glorious  place 
is  not  like  the  poor  dwellings  we  had  on  earth ;  this  body, 
this  soul,  this  state,  this  place,  our  clothes,  our  company,  our 


BELIEVERS  IN  AFFLICTION.  95 

language,  our  thoughts,  are  far  unlike  those  we  had  then. 
The  bad  hearts,  the  body  of  death,  the  corruptions  and 
temptations  we  then  complained  of,  are  all  gone.  We  have 
no  more  fear  of  death  or  hell,  no  more  use  for  repentance  or 
prayer,  faith  or  hope ;  these  are  now  swallowed  up  in  im- 
mediate vision,  eternal  love,  joy,  and  praise."  And  for  thy 
help,  0  believer,  in  meditating  on  these  things,  read  some 
parts  of  the  book  of  Revelation,  or  cause  them  to  be  read  to 
you  ;  and  suppose  with  yourself  that  you  had  been  a  com- 
panion with  John  in  the  isle  of  Patmos,  and  had  got  such  a 
view  of  the  glorious  majesty,  the  bright  thrones,  the  heav- 
enly hosts,  and  shining  splendor  which  he  saw — the  saints 
in  their  white  robes,  with  crowns  on  their  heads  and  palms 
in  their  hands — and  heard  them  singing  the  song  of  Moses 
and  the  Lamb,  and  trumpeting  forth  their  eternal  hallelu- 
jahs ;  what  a  heavenly  rapture  wouldst  thou  have  been  in. 
Well,  0  believer,  thou  shalt  shortly  have  clearer  and  sweeter 
sights  than  all  these  which  John  or  any  of  the  saints  ever 
saw  here  upon  earth.  Surely  that  heavenly  glory  is  a  sub- 
ject worthy  of  thy  thoughts,  and  most  suitable  for  thee  to 
meditate  on  in  time  of  sickness,  and  when  in  the  view  of 
death. 

8.  It  would  be  also  very  suitable  at  this  time,  in  order 
to  your  actual  readiness  for  death,  to  be  frequently  looking 
out  and  longing  for  Christ's  coming.  As  Abraham  stood  in 
his  tent  door,  ready  to  go  forth  to  meet  the  angels  that  were 
sent  unto  him,  so  should  the  believer  keep  hhnself  in  a  wait- 
ing posture  at  this  time.  He  should  be  like  the  loving  wife, 
that  longs  and  looks  for  the  cqming  of  her  absent  husband, 
according  to  his  letters  to  her.  By  this  time,  thinks  she,  he 
will  be  at  such  a  place,  and  against  such  a  time  he  will  be 
at  another  place,  and  so  in  a  few  days  I  shall  see  him.  It 
is  a  character  given  of  believers,  they  are  such  as.  love  his 
appearing.  2  Tim.  4  :  8.  They  desire  his  coming.  *'  Make 
haste,  my  beloved."     Cant.  8  :  14.     "  Even  so,  come.  Lord 


96  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

Jesus,  come  quickly."  Rev.  22  :  20.  Believers  should  look 
upon  themselves  as  pilgrims  here,  wandering  in  a  wilderness, 
absent  from  home,  and  at  a  distance  from  their  father's 
house  ;  and  in  time  of  affliction  it  is  very  proper  for  them  to 
be  crying  as  David  doth,  "  0  that  I  had  wings  like  a  dove, 
for  then  would  I  fly  away,  and  be  at  rest ;  I  would  hasten 
my  escape  from  the  windy  storm  and  tempest."  Psalm 
55  :  6,  18.  "  0  when  shall  the  time  of  my  pilgrimage,  and 
the  days  of  my  banishment  be  finished,  that  I  may  get  home 
to  my  country  and  friends  above  ?  0,  my  Lord  is  gone,  my 
Saviour  hath  left  the  earth  and  entered  into  his  glory  ;  my 
friends  and  brethren  are  gone  to  their  blessed  rest,  where 
they  see  God's  face  and  sing  his  praise  for  ever:  and  how 
can  I  be  willing  to  stay  behind,  when  they  are  gone  ?  Must 
I  be  sinning  here,  when  they  are  serving  God  above  ?  Must 
I  be  groaning  and  sighing,  when  they  are  triumphing  and 
dividing  the  spoil  ?  Surely  I  will  look  after  them  and  cry, 
0  Lord,  how  long  ?  when  may  I  be  with  my  Saviour  and 
my  God  ?" 

Direction  5.  Let  believers  in  time  of  sickness  endeavor  all  they 
can  to  glorify  God,  and  edify  those  that  are  about  them,  by 
their  conversation  and  behavior. 

If  ever  a  child  of  God  be  active  to  promote  the  honor 
and  glory  of  God,  it  should  be  in  time  of  sickness,  and  when 
death  may  be  approaching.  And  there  is  good  reason  for 
it :  for,  ■ .  ,    -*  *  .        > 

1 .  This  may  be  the  last  opportunity  that  ever  thou  shall 
have  to  do  any  thing  for  God  on  earth ;  and  therefore  thou 
shouldst  study  to  improve  it  to  the  uttermost.  Heaven,  to 
which  thou  art  going,  is  the  place  where  thou  shalt  receive 
thy  reward  ;  but  thou  canst  have  no  access  there  to  advance 
God's  glory,  by  commending  God  and  Christ  and  religion  to 
sinners  or  weak  believers.  Upon  this  account  many  of  God's 
children  have  been  content  to  suspend  their  heavenly  hap- 
piness for  a  while,  and  to  stay  upon  the  earth  for  some  longer 


BELIEVERS   IN  AFFLICTION.  97 

time.  I  have  read  of  a  certain  martyr  who,  when  going  to 
suffer,  expressed  some  sorrow  that  he  was  going  thither, 
where  he  should  do  his  God  no  more  service  ;  that  is,  in  the 
sense  above  explained.  And  of  another  that  said,  *'  If  it  were 
possible  there  could  be  place  for  any  grief  in  heaven,  it  would 
arise  from  the  Christian's  considering  that  he  did  so  little  for 
God  while  he  was  upon  earth*"  Now  is  the  working  season ; 
0  believer,  be  busy  while  it  lasts,  according  to  the  example 
of  thy  blessed  Saviour  :  "  I  must  work  the  work  of  Him  that 
sent  me,  while  it  is  day  :  the  night  cometh,  wherein  no  man 
can  work."  John  9:4.  This  consideration  should  make 
thee  bestir  thyself  with  the  greatest  activity,  like  Sampson 
before  his  death ;  who,  when  he  could  have  no  more  oppor- 
tunity to  serve  God  and  his  church,  cried  to  God  and  said, 
"  0  Lord  God,  remember  me,  I  pray  thee,  and  strengthen  me 
only  this  once."  Judges  16  :  28.  And  then  he  bowed  him- 
self with  all  his  might  to  pull  down  the  pillars  of  Dagon's 
temple,  being  willing  to  sacrifice  his  life  to  the  ruin  thereof. 
2.  The  holy  language  and  conduct  of  dying  believers 
may,  through  the  blessing  of  God,  make  a  deep  impression 
upon  the  hearts  of  unregenerate  men  that  are  witnesses  to 
them.  Many  who  have  derided  the  people  of  God  for  the 
strictness  of  their  lives,  and  despised  their  counsels  and  re- 
proofs as  proceeding  from  ill-humor  or  preciseness,  have  be- 
gun to  notice  their  words  and  actions  when  they  have  seen 
them  on  sick-beds  and  on  the  borders  of  eternity,  and  to  have 
other  thoughts  of  religion  and  holiness  than  formerly  they 
had.  Now,  they  think,  the  man  is  in  good  earnest,  and 
speaketh  the  thoughts  of  his  heart ;  and,  if  ever  he  can  be 
believed,  it  must  be  now.  It  is  most  convincing  to  carnal 
persons  to  see  believers  bearing  up  with  patience  in  their 
sickness  ;  to  hear  them  speaking  good  of  God,  commending 
his  ways,  and  rejoicing  in  God  as  their  portion  in  the  midst 
of  their  sharpest  pains  :  to  see  them  behaving  as  those  that 
are  going  to  dwell  with  Christ ;  smiling  and  praising  God, 

Affl.  Man's  Cpinpanlon.  5 


98  AFFLICTED   MAN'S   COMPANION. 

when  friends  are  sighing  and  weeping  about  them.  This 
inclines  them  to  think,  surely  there  must  be  a  reality  in  re- 
lio-ion ;  there  is  a  visible  difference  between  the  death  of  the 
righteous  and  that  of  the  wicked.  Hence  a  wicked  Balaam 
wished  to  die  the  death  of  the  righteous,  and  to  have  his  last 
end  like  his.  It  left  a  conviction  upon  that  young  -man's 
conscience,  who  said  to  his  loose  companion,  after  they  had 
visited  godly  Ambrose  on  his  death-bed,  and  seen  how  cheer- 
ful he  was  and  triumphing  over  approaching  death,  "0  that 
I  might  live  with  thee,  and  die  with  Ambrose."  Nay,  such 
sights  might  draw  them  not  only  to  desire  to  die  the  death 
of  the  righteous,  but  also  to  resolve  to  live  their  lives.  If 
carnal  men  saw  believers  going  off  the  stage  with  such  con- 
fidence and  joy  as  becomes  those  that  are  entering  into 
eternal  rest  with  Christ,  and  those  that  are  going  out  of  a 
howling  wilderness  to  a  glorious  Canaan,  it  might  be  a 
powerful  invitation  to  them  to  go  and  seek  after  the  same 
felicity. 

3.  This  likewise  would  be  very  edifying  and  confirming 
to  all  that  fear  God.  How  much  would  it  contribute  to  es- 
tablish them  in  the  practice  of  holiness,  and  to  quicken  them 
in  their  diligence  in  obeying  and  glorifying  God  in  the  days 
of  their  health,  to  hear  a  dying  believer  say,  "Of  all  the 
time  which  I  have  lived,  I  have  no  comfort  now  in  reflect- 
ing upon  one  hour  but  what  I  spent  in  the  service  of  God. 
Were  I  to  begin  my  life,  I  would  redeem  time  more  carefully 
than  ever.  One  hour  in  communion  with  God  is  far  sweeter 
than  many  years  spent  in  worldly  pleasures.  Come  here, 
then,  all  ye  that  fear  God,  and  I  will  tell  you  what  he  hath 
done  for  my  soul.     0  taste  and  see  that  God  is  good." 

4.  Consider  the  examples  of  God's  children  in  former 
ages,  how  useful  and  edifying  their  words  have  been  at  such 
a  time  to  all  around  them.  But  this  head  I  intend  to  treat 
more  fully  afterwards, 

GtuESTioN,  But  how  shall  I  behave  so  as  to  glprify  God 


BELIEVERS   IN  AFFLICTION.  99 

and  edify  others  when  I  am  sick  or  dying  ?     I  would  have 
some  particular  directions  for  it. 

Answer  1.  You  may  do  this  by  your  patience  under  pain 
and  submission  to  God's  will  with  respeict  to  the  event, 
whether  life  or  death.  It  is  a  stumbling-stone  to  others  to 
see  believers  fretful  in  trouble,  and  unwilling  to  leave  the 
world  when  God  calls  them.  But  it  is  most  convincing 
and  confirming  to  see  them  frankly  resigning  themselves  to 
God's  disposal,  saying,  "Let  God  himself  choose  for  me  ;  he 
is  wise,  and  knoweth  best  what  is  needful  and  proper  for 
me ;  I  have  no  will  but  God's  will."  For  any  man  to  de- 
sire to  live  when  God  calls  him  to  die,  or  to  desire  to  die 
when  God  calls  him  to  live,  is  equally  a  sin  of  cowardice ; 
for  he  that  desires  to  live  is  afraid  to  look  death  in  the  face, 
and  he  that  desires  to  die  would  flee  from  some  calamity 
and  take  shelter  in  death.  But  he  is  the  most  valiant  man 
that  can  die  willingly  when  God  would  have  him  die,  and 
live  as  willingly  when  God  would  have  him  live.  This  is 
true  Christian  valor. 

2.  By  pious  exhortations  and  warnings  to  those  that  are 
about  you.  It  may  be  the  last  occasion  you  may  have  of 
glorifying  God  this  way.  0  do  not  lose  the  season  which 
may  be  usefully  improved  for  the  good  of  souls.  For  thus  a 
beUever  may  bring  more  honor  to  God,  and  more  advantage 
to  precious  souls  by  his  sickness  and  death,  than  ever  he  did 
by  all  his  health  and  life  in  the  world  ;  for  his  words  have 
more  weight  with  the  people  at  such  a  time  than  at  any 
other.  Hence  the  patriarchs,  knowing  the  prevalency  of 
such  words,  urged  Joseph  with  Jacob's  dying  charge  :  "  And 
they  sent  a  messenger  unto  Joseph,  saying,  Thy  father  did 
command  before  he  died,  so  shall  ye  say  unto  Joseph,  For- 
give, I  pray  thee  now,  the  trespass  of  thy  brethren."  Gen. 
50  :  16,  17.  And  as  we  ought  to  be  ready  to  give  good  coun- 
sel to  all  when  we  lie  on  sick-beds,  so  especially  we  should 
be  concerned  for  our  children  and  near  relations ;  they  are 


100  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

more  affected  than  others  with  our  sickness,  and  so  will 
they  be  with  our  sayings ;  our  admonitions  may  do  them 
good  when  we  are  rotting  in  the  dust. 

Question.  What  ought  to  be  the  subject  of  our  remarks 
and  exhortations  to  others  at  such  a  time  ? 

Answer  1.  It  is  very  proper  to  be  much  in  commend- 
ing the  Master  you  have  served,  and  the  excellency  of  his 
service,  to  those  that  are  about  you.  Tell  them  of  the  equity 
and  goodness  of  the  laws  which  you  have  obeyed ;  of  the 
bounty  and  faithfulness  of  that  Lord  whom  you  have  wor- 
Bhipped,  loved,  and  praised ;  and  of  the  greatness  and  eter- 
nity of  that  reward  you  are  going  to  possess.  Let  the  chil- 
dren of  God  extol  their  Father,  and  his  care  of  them  and 
kindness  to  them.  Let  the  ransomed  of  the  Lord  magnify 
their  Redeemer,  and  his  wonderful  love  and  sufferings  for 
them.  Tell  others  what  sweetness  and  satisfaction  you 
have  found  in  your  own  experience  in  attending  God's  or- 
dinances, and  in  secret  duties ;  what  comfort  you  have 
found  in  Christ  and  the  promises  of  his  covenant.  And 
thus  let  your  last  breath  be  spent  in  exalting  and  com- 
mending Christ  and  religion  to  others. 

2.  Warn  others  of  the  vanity  of  the  world  and  all  its 
wealth  and  pleasures.  Tell  them  that  they  may  see  by 
your  case  that  those  things  which  people  are  bewitched 
with  in  the  day  of  their  health,  can  signify  nothing  to  a  sick 
or  dying  man;  they  cannot  ease  us  in  our  pains,  they  can 
afibrd  no  peace  to  a  troubled  soul ;  they  cannot  lengthen 
our  life  one  hour,  and  far  less  can  they  save  from  the  wrath 
of  an  angry  God.  "Oh,"  may  you  say,  "what  a  miserable 
case  had  I  been  in  at  this  time,  if  I  had  no  better  portion 
than  this  world,  and  nothing  else  to  look  to  but  to  its  riches 
and  pleasures.  Wherefore,  sirs,  set  not  your  hearts  upon  it, 
but  forsake  it  before  you  be  forsaken  by  it,  and  make  choice 
of  that  which  will  support  you  in  the  evil  day." 

3.  Warn  them  of  the  evil  of  sin,  and  what  mischief  and 


BELIEVERS  IN  AFFLICTION.  101 

deccitfulness  you  have  found  in  it.  Tell  them  that  "though 
the  devil  and  the  flesh  would  tempt  you  to  look  on  sin  as  a 
harmless  thing,  yet  the  pleasure  will  soon  be  gone,  and  a 
sharp  sting  will  be  left  behind.  Sin  will  appear  no  light 
matter  when  the  soul,  is  going  hence  into  the  awful  presence 
of  a  holy  God.  You  would  give  a  thousand  worlds  then 
for  Christ  and  the  blood  of  atonement  to  answer  for  your 
sins." 

4.  Tell  them  the  great  difference  between  the  godly  and 
the  wicked  man's  choice.  The  godly  man  chooseth  the  good 
part  that  cannot  be  taken  from  him ;  he  lays  up  his  treasure 
in  heaven  where  none  can  reach  it,  so  that  it  yields  hira  rich 
Supplies  when  sickness  and  death  come  upon  him.  But  0 
how  foolish  is  the  wicked  man's  choice,  that  for  a  moment's 
fleshly  pleasure,  doth  lose  his  immortal  soul  and  everlasting 
happiness.  Warn  them  to  mind  the  one  thing  needful  in 
time,  and  not  pamper  their  body  for  the  worms,  but  to  set 
themselves  immediately  to  close  with  the  offers  of  Christy 
and  make  sure  an  interest  in  his  righteousness  to  cover  them 
in  the  evil  day. 

5.  Tell  them  of  the  evil  of  sloth  and  negligence  in  the 
work  of  their  salvation ;  and  exhort  them  to  mind  it,  and 
to  do  it  with  all  their  might.  For  however  some  may  cen- 
sure and  deride  God's  people  now  for  their  strictness,  dili- 
gence, and  zeal  in  the  matter  of  religion,  yet  when  they  come 
to  die,  they  will  be  ready  to  wish  that  they  had  been  more 
diligent  in  the  work  of  salvation  ;  that  they  had  loved  God, 
fled  to  Christ,  and  sought  and  served  him  with  all  their 
hearts  and  souls ;  and  to  cry,  "0  for  a  little  more  time  ;  0 
if  God  would  recover  and  try  us  once  with  health,  how  dil- 
igent would  we  be."  Tell  them  also,  that  those  who  have 
been  most  serious  and  self  denying  in  the  work  of  salvation, 
yet  when  they  come  to  die,  do  much  lament  their  sloth  and 
negligence  ;  yea,  those  that  have  been  most  reproached  by 
the  world  for  their  diligence  and  fervency,  do  often  wish  at 


102  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

that  time,  "0  that  we  had  been  a  thousand  times  more  dil- 
igent and  laborious  in  God's  service." 

6.  Labor  to  persuade  others  of  the  preciousness  of  time, 
the  wisdom  of  improving  the  season  of  youth  and  of  health, 
and  the  great  folly  of  delaying  repentance  and  of  putting  it 
oft^to  a  sick-bed.  Say  to  them,  "  I  find  now  by  experience, 
that  a  time  of  sickness  is  a  most  unfit  season  to  do  any  thing 
to  purpose  for  the  soul ;  my  mind  is  so  diverted  and  indis- 
posed for  spiritual  Work  by  sickness  and  pain,  that  I  cannot 
attain  to  any  suitable  composure  for  it.  And  how  miserable 
were  I,  if  I  had  all  my  work  to  begin  at  this  time.  0  take 
warning,  and  improve  precious  time  ;  and  especially  the  day 
of  the  gospel,  the  time  of  the  Spirit's  striving,  and  the  time 
of  youth,  which  is  the  most  usual  season  of  the  conversion  of 
souls,  and  of  bringing  sinners  into  acquaintance  with  Jesus 
Christ." 

Direction  6.  Let  God's  children,  when  sick  or  dying,  feel  and 
manifest  a  great  concern  for  the  advancement  of  the  kingdom 
of  Christj  and  of  true  religion  among  the  rising  generation. 

Zeal  for  Christ's  interests  is  very  becoming  his  people  In 
all  the  periods  of  their  life,  but  more  especially  at  this  time. 
When  Christ  is  ready  to  take  you  to  his  kingdom  in  heaven, 
0  be  not  unmindful  of  his  kingdom  on  earth.  It  would  be 
acceptable  to  God,  and  pleasant  in  the  sight  of  men,  to  see 
you  expressing  a  warm  concern  for  the  rising  age,  and  for 
promoting  the  welfare  of  the  souls  of  your  children  and  others 
that  survive  you ;  and  seeing  you  can  be  no  longer  useful  to 
those  you  leave  behind,  by  your  counsels,  examples,  or  pray- 
ers as  formerly,  do  your  utmost  for  them  now.  And  this 
concern  the  children  of  God  in  time  of  sickness  may  evidence 
several  ways. 

1.  By  earnest  prayers  to  God,  both  for  the  prosperity  of 
his  church,  and  the  flourishing  of  religion  in  general,  and 
also  for  your  children  and  relations  in  particular,  that  they 
may  be  a  holy  seed  and  a  generation  to  serve  God,  and 


.B-ELIEVERS  IN  AFFLICTION.  103 

show  forth  his  praise  in  the  world,  when  you  are  gone  off 
the  stage. 

2.  By  intrusting  the  care  of  your  children's  education  to 
such  tutors  and  guardians  as  will  be  concerned  for  their 
soulfe,  and  will  set  before  them  godly  examples  and  instruc- 
tions in  their  young  and  tender  years. 

3.  By  filling  your  Mails  with  pious  advices  and  solemn 
charges  to  your  children  and  relations,  with  respect  to  their 
serving  God  and  worshipping  him  in  their  families  and  in 
secret ;  so  that  they  can  never  look  into  your  testaments, 
and  the  legacies  left  to  them,  but  they  will  see  something 
that  may  be  affecting,  arousing,  and  edifying  to  their  souls. 

4.  By  honoring  the  Lord  with  your  substance,  and  leav- 
ing something  of  what  God  hath  blessed  you  with  to  pious 
uses ;  particularly  for  the  religious  education  of  the  children 
of  the  poor,  for  buying  Bibles  and  other  good  books  for  them, 
and  for  propagating  Christian  knowledge  m  ignorant  places. 
For  by  fatal  experience  Ave  may  observe  that  the  most  godly 
parents  do  not  know  how  their  children  will  employ  the 
estate  .they  leave  them,  whether  as  fuel  for  their  lusts,  or  as 
oil  to  feed  the  lamps  in  God's  sanctuary.  It  is  proper  for 
themselves  then,  before  they  go  off  the  stage,  to  dispose  of 
some  part  of  their  substance  for  the  glory  and  service  of  that 
God  who  gave  it  unto  them. 

5.  It  might  contribute  to  promote  piety,  and  make  deeper 
impressions  upon  the  minds  of  your  children  and  friends,  if, 
under  the  warnings  of  death,  you  should  imitate  the  example 
of  the  prophet  Elijah,  who  in  his  lifetime  made  a  writing, 
which  he  procured  to  be  delivered  to  king  Jehoram  after  his 
death.  2-  Chron.  21  :  12.  So  in  like  manner  you  might 
write  letters  and  leave  them  in  the  hands  of  your  friends 
and  executors,  full  of  advices,  charges,  admonitions,  consola- 
tions, or  threatenings,  to  be  delivered  to  your  children  or 
friends  upon  occasion  either  of  their  good  or  bad  conversa- 
tion after  your  death ;  which  probably  would  be  more  re- 


104  AFFLICTED  MAN'S   COMPANION. 

garded  by  them  than  the  counsels  you  gave  them  in  the 
time  of  your  hfe  ;  for,  in  some  respect,  they  would  be  receiv- 
ed and  read  by  them  as  if  they  were  letters  from  heaven. 

Direction  7.  Let  the  children  of  God  labor  to  fortify  themselves 
against  all  Satan's  temptations  and  assaults,  which  they  may 
expect  to  meet  with  in  time  of  sickness  and  affliction. 

A  time  of  affliction  is  commonly  a  time  of  temptation, 
for  the  old  serpent  knows  the  fittest  seasons  for  assaulting 
the  children  of  God  ;  and  he  will  not  be  wanting  to  improve 
this  opportunity  of  advantage  for  falling  upon  the  poor  soul. 
When  Pharaoh  heard  that  the  people  were  entangled  in  the 
wilderness,  he  pursued  them  ;  so  when  Satan  sees  a  soul 
entangled  with  distress  and  trouble,  he  thinks  it  high  time 
to  make  an  attack.  He  seeks  to  winnow  and  sift  away  the 
believer's  grace,  and  therefore  he  comes  when  the  corn  is 
under  a  threshing  by  the  rod.  When  Job  was  smitten  in 
his  estate,  health,  and  all  other  comforts,  then  this  coward 
falls  upon  him,  and  tempts  him  to  impatience,  murmuring, 
and  wrong  thoughts  of  God. 

At  this  time,  0  believer,  you  have  special  need  to  be  on 
your  guard,  and  look  out.  Reckon  always,  when  sickness 
or  trouble  cometh,  the  prince  of  this  world  cometh  also. 
Stand  then  to  your  defence,  and  put  on  your  armor,  espe- 
cially the  shield  of  faith,  that  you  may  be  able  to  quench  the 
fiery  darts  of  the  devil.  You  have  need  at  this  time  to  put 
in  practice  our  Lord's  direction,  *'  Watch  and  pray,  that  ye 
enter  not  into  temptation."  Pray  for  wisdom  and  skill  to 
counteract  the  evil  one,  and  that  you  may  not  be  ignorant  of 
his  devices,  and  pray  particularly  for  grace  to  make  you 
proof  against  all  his  false  representations  of  God  and  his 
providence  to  you  ;  for  he  that  durst  represent  Job  falsely  to 
an  all-seeing  and  all-knowing  God,  will  with  much  boldness 
represent  God  falsely  to  you,  who  see  and  know  so  little. 
He  will  be  ready  to  tempt  you  to  think  that  God  is  angry 
with  you,  and  deahng  with  you  as  an  enemy.     Thus  was 


BELIEVERS  IN  AFFLICTION.  '  IGo 

Job  tempted :  "  Behold,  he  findeth  occasions  against  me,  he 
counteth  me  for  his  Aiemy  :  he  putteth  my  feet  in  the  stocks, 
he  marketh  all  my  paths."  Job  33  :  10,  11.  But  observe 
what  Elihu  answers:  "In  this  thou  art  not  just;  God  is 
greater  than  man.  Why  dost  thou  strive  against  him  ?  for 
he  giveth  not  account  of  any  of  his  matters."  But  seeing 
I  have  spoken  before  of  the  wrong  thoughts  of  God  which 
we  are  apt  to  harbor  in  time  of  affliction,  Chapter  II.,  Direc- 
tion 3,  I  shall  proceed  to  speak  of  some  other  temptations 
wherewith  Satan  doth  assault  God's  people  when  in  distress, 
and  furnish  some  answers  thereto. 

Temptation  1.  Saith  the  tempter,  "Thou  art  nothing 
but  a  hypocrite  :  all  thy  religious  performances  have  been 
done  in  hypocrisy,  to  be  seen  of  men :  thou  never  hast  re- 
pented or  believed  sincerely  in  the  sight  of  God." 

Answer.  I  acknowledge  there  hath  been  much  hypoc- 
risy in  me,  but  I  hope  it  is  not  allowed  and  reigning  hypoc- 
risy ;  I  always  wrestled  against  it :  wherefore  I  am  not  a 
hypocrite.  I  regarded  the  esteem  of  men  too  much,  but  I 
hope  I  value  the  esteem  of  God  much  more.  My  faith  and 
repentance  are  weak,  but  I  hope  they  are  sincere.  And 
whatever  defects  and  shortcomings  have  formerly  cleaved  to 
these  graces  in  me,  I  do  now  unfeignedly  repent  of  all  my 
sins,  I  look  to  Him  whom  I  have  pierced,  and  mourn.  I  am 
heartily  willing  to  be  justified  by  the  righteousness  of  Christ 
alone,  and  to  be  cleansed  and  sanctified  by  his  Spirit ;  and 
here  I  give  up  myself  to  Christ  as  my  only  Saviour.  And 
this  I  hope  is,  through  grace,  true  repenting  and  believing, 
which  God  will  accept,  for  Christ's  sake,  whatever  my  former 
defects  have  been. 

Temptation  2.  But  saith  the  tempter,  "  Thy  repentance 
cannot  be  true  ;  for  thy  heart  is  not  broken,  and  thine  eyes 
do  not  shed  tears  for  sin." 

Answer.  It  is  my  very  great  burden  and  constant  com- 
plaint to  God,  that  I  cannot  attain  to  a  greater  measure  of 

6* 


106  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

sorrow  and  contrition  for  sin ;  but  yet  it  is  my  comfort,  that 
repentance  is  not  to  be  confined  to  sucfi  degrees  and  symp- 
toms of  sorrow  as  some  do  win  at.  I  hope  I  can  say  through 
grace,  that  my  heart  is  set  against  all  sin,  great  and  small; 
and  I  would  give  up  all  I  have  in  the  world  to  be  wholly 
delivered  from  sin. 

Temptation  3.  Saith  the  tempter,  "  But  thy  day  of  grace 
is  past,  it  is  too  late  for  thee  to  think  of  repenting  or  believ- 
ing:  God  will  not  accept  of  thee  now." 

ANS^VER.  Nay,  I  hope  it  is  not  so  with  me,  seeing  God 
gives  me  a  heart  that  pants  after  him  and  Christ  in  the  way 
of  commanded  duty.  The  offers  of  salvation  through  Christ 
are  made  to  all  who  believe  and  repent ;  and  late  penitents 
are  not  excluded  from  the  benefits  of  these  gracious  offers 
more  than  others. 

Temptation  4.  But  saith  the  tempter,  "  Thou  art  none 
of  God's  elect,  and  if  thou  be  not  chosen  to  salvation,  thou 
canst  not  be  saved."  jiv/  At^.i. 

Answer.  Secret  things  belong  to  God,  and  it  were  pre- 
sumption in  me  to  pry  into  his  secret  decrees ;  but  one  thing 
I  am  sure  of,  that  every  soul  that  is  chosen  to  faith  and 
repentance,  is  also  chosen  to  salvation:  I  trust  God  hath 
chosen  me  to  the  former,  and  therefore  to  the  latter. 

Temptation  5.  But  saith  the  tempter,  "You  overvalue 
your  graces  and  duties,  and  so  they  cannot  be  true  and  real." 

Answer.  Nay,  I  count  them  all  but  loss  and  dung  in 
comparison  with  Christ.  I  desire  always  to  be  deeply  hum- 
bled under  a  sense  of  my  sinfulness  and  un worthiness,  and  to 
abhor  every  motion  that  would  carry  me  away  from  Christ 
and  his  righteousness,  and  would  tempt  me  to  rely  on  my 
grace  and  duties,  or  put  them  in  the  least  in  Christ's  room. 

Temptation  6.  "  The  issue  of  thy  sickness  may  be  death ; 
and  thou  art  not  ready,  for  thou  hast  no  assurance  of  thy 
salvation." 

Answer.  A  perfect  certainty  is  not  to  be  expected  here ; 


BELIEVERS  IN   AFFLICTION.  107 

there  will  be  still  some  questions,  some  doubts  and  fears ; 
but  these  I  resolve  not  to  indulge  now,  but  to  break  through 
all,  that  I  may  embrace  Christ  and  be  found  in  him.  The 
desires  of  my  soul  are  to  Christ  and  the  remembrance  of  his 
name;  and  such  I  believe  he  will  not  suffer  to  perish.  "I 
believe;  Lord,  help  my  unbelief." 

Temptation  7.  "  But  thou  art  a  stranger  to  the  invisi- 
ble world ;  how  wilt  thou  adventure  into  that  world  of  spirits 
with  which  thou  hast  so  little  acquaintance  ?" 

Answer.  Christ,  who  is  my  head  and  best  friend,  is  no 
stranger  to  it;  he  is  the  Lord  of  that  land,  and  provides 
mansions  for  all  his  people  there ;  and  he  will  receive  every 
one  of  them  home,  and  lodge  them  safely.  "  The  spirits  of 
just  men  made  perfect,"  were  once  what  my  spirit  now  is ; 
they  were  strangers  to  that  world  before  they  came  to  it,  as 
well  as  I ;  but  their  Head  being  there,  encouraged  them  to 
go  to  it ;  and  now  they  rejoice  in  it  as  the  kindly  dwelling- 
place  of  all  the  saints. 

Temptation  8.  "But  thou  art  vile,  and  God  is  infinitely 
pure  and  glorious ;  how  canst  thou  think  of  approaching  so 
near  to  him  ?" 

Answer.  Though  a  weak  eye  be  not  able  to  look  upon 
the  sun,  yet  I  hope  to  be  fitted  and  strengthened  for  that 
glorious  sight.  Besides,  God  doth  now  appear  to  us  in  his 
Son  Jesus  Christ,  where  his  infinite  glory  is  pleasantly  veiled 
so  that  saints  may  behold  him.  Those  glorified  souls  above 
were  once  vile  as  well  as  others ;  but  their  Saviour  did  cleanse 
them,  and  present  them  to  the  Father  without  spot  or  wrin- 
kle. And  whatever  be  my  un worthiness,  I  am  relieved  by 
considering  my  union  with  Christ,  and  looking  on  the  glory 
and  dignity  of  my  Head.  Surely  God  will  not  despise  the 
members  of  his  dear  Son,  nor  trample  on  any  that  are  his 
flesh  and  bones. 

Temptation  9.  "But  what  will  become  of  thy  wife  and 
children  when  thou  art  taken  from  them?" 


108  AFFLICTED  MAN'S   COMPANION. 

Answer.  If  1  trust  God  so  willingly  with  my  soul  and 
my  eternal  concerns,  why  may  I  not  trust  him  with  my  re- 
lations also?  Have  I  not  seen  how  wonderfully  he  hath 
provided  for  others  ?  Doth  not  every  thing  in  the  world  de- 
pend on  his  will  and  pleasure  ?  How  easy  is  it  then  for  God 
to  supply  his  own  ? 

Temptation  10.  "  But  still,  death  is  terrible  to  nature ; 
he  is  even  the  king  of  terrors." 

Answer.  My  Redeemer  hath  tasted  death  for  me,  and 
taken  out  its  fearful  sting;  he  hath  conquered  death,  and 
keeps  the  keys  of  death  and  hell.  Wherefore  through  him 
will  I  sing,  "0  death,  where  is  thy  sting?  0  grave,  where 
is  thy  victory?" 

Temptation  11.  "But  it  is  terrible  to  think  of  appearing 
before  God's  tribunal  to  be  tried  and  judged." 

Answer.  My  friend  and  intercessor  will  be  the  Judge 
there.  Will  Christ  condemn  the  members  of  his  own  body 
whom  he  hath  so  often  comforted? 

Besides  these,  a  holy  God  may  sometimes  suffer  the 
tempter  to  assault  his  own  people  in  time  of  their  affliction 
with  his  fiery  darts  and  his  fiercest  battering  engines,  such 
as  temptations  to  atheism,  blasphemy,  and  despair,  whereby 
their  souls  may  be  terribly  shaken  and  sore  amazed. 

Your  relief  in  this  case  is  to  look  to  your  Head,  and  re- 
member how  he  was  himself  buffeted  by  this  enemy,  and 
assaulted  with  the  most  odious  temptations,  that  he  might 
thereby  get  an  experimental  touch  and  feeling  of  your  con- 
dition, in  order  to  his  sympathizing  with  you,  and  relieving 
you  from  this  enemy  whom  he  hath  already  conquered  in 
your  naine.  But  for  these  things  he  will  be  inquired  of  by 
the  house  of  Israel.  You  must  exercise  faith  in  your  ex- 
alted Head. 


THE   UNREaENERATE    IN   AFFLICTION.        109 


CHAPTER   IT. 

SPECIAL  DIRECTIONS  TO  UNREGENERATE  PERSONS,  WHEN 
AFFLICTED  BY  SICKNESS  OR  OTHERWISE. 

Direction  1.  Take  a  serious  view  of  the  miserable  condition  of 
a  Christless  person  under  sickness  or  heavy  affliction. 

Consider  the  vast  difference  between  your  case  and  that 
of  a  true  believer :  he  hath  ground  of  consolation  in  the 
greatest  distress,  but  you  have  none.  However  sharp  the 
rod  of  correction  be  to  him,  yet  it  is  in  the  hand  of  a  Father : 
but  you  have  to  do  with  an  angry  and  sin-avenging  God; 
and  who  may  staiid  in  his  sight,  if  once  he  be  angry?  for  he 
commands  both  the  first  and  Becond  death,  and  he  can  cast 
you  both  into  the  grave  and  hell  at  once  :  "  Hell  followed 
the  pale  horse."  Rev.  6  :  8.  Death  is  the  king  of  terrors, 
but  hell  is  a  thousand  times  more  terrible.  When  God 
afflicts  his  children,  he  stands  to  them  in  the  relation  of  "a 
loving  Father;  but  he  deals  with  you  as  an  incensed  Judge. 
Though  he  sees  it  necessary  for  their  good  to  chastise  them, 
yet  he  doth  it  with  a  relenting  hand ;  yea,  every  stroke  goeth 
as  it  were  to  his  heart.  "  In  all  their  affliction  he  was  af- 
flicted." Isa.  63  :  9.  But  when  he  ariseth  to  punish  his 
incorrigible  enemies,  though  they  cry  he  hath  no  pity.  "I 
will  laugh  at  your  calamity,  and  mock  when  your  fear 
Cometh."     Prov.  1  :  26. 

2.  If  your  sickness  threaten  you  with  death,  what  a 
dark  and  melancholy  prospect  must  you  have  of  your  ap- 
proaching change.  "Why,  0  Christless  soul,  it  is  what  you 
are  wholly  unprepared  for.  The  old  house  falls  down  about 
your  ears  before  you  have  another  lodging  provided.  When 
death  casts  you  to  the  door,  you  have  nowhere  to  lay  your 
head,  unless  it  be  on  a  bed  of  fire  and  brimstone.  0  how 
surprising  and  fearful  will  the  change  be  that  death  will 


110  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

make  with  you.  A  change  from  earth  to  hell,  from  light  to 
darkness,  from  comforts  to  terrors,  from  hope  to  despair,  from 
the  offers  of  grace  to  the. revelation  of  wrath  ;  a  change  from 
the  society  of  saints  on  earth,  to  the  company  of  the  damned 
in  hell.  Whatever  fond  hopes  of  salvation  you  have  now, 
your  hopes  shall  lead  you  no  further  than  to  the  king  of 
terrors,  and  then  "your  hope  shall  be  cut  off,  and  your  trust 
shall  be  a  spider's  web."  Job  8:14.  Though  it  costs  you 
much  pains  to  weave  and  support  this  web  now,  it  will 
prove  a  weak  and  slender  defence  to  your  soul,  when  death 
comes  -vi^ith  his  besom  of  destruction  and  sweeps  both  you 
and  it  away  to  hell.  You  will  then  be  taken  from  all  the 
means  of  grace  you  have  abused,  and  be  for  ever  deprived 
of  an  opportunity  of  buying  the  oil  of  grace :  your  lamp 
shall  go  out  at  death,  and  never  be  lighted  any  more. 

3.  In  this  extremity  you  have  no  quarter  to  look  to  for 
comfort.  0  Christless  sinner,  what  will  you  dp  in  the  day 
of  visitation  ?  To  whom  will  you  flee  for  help  ?  Your 
houses,  your  lands,  your  money,  your  honors,  your  compan- 
ions, your  relations  will  all  be  miserable  comforters  to  you. 
Every  thing  will  look  black  and  dismal  round  about  you. 
If  you  look  without  you  for  help,  you  may  see  your  friends 
weeping  and  lamenting  your  case  ;  but  this  will  do  nothing 
but  increase  your  vexation  and  misery.  If  you  look  within 
you  for  relief,  conscience,  that  before  you  would  not  suffer 
to  speak,  will  meet  you  with  bitter  stings  and  upbraidings. 
It  will  bring  to  your  view  the  sins  you  had  forgotten,  the 
time  you  have  misspent,  the  health  you  have  misimproved, 
the  offers  of  grace  you  have  refused,  the  great  salvation  you 
have  neglected.  What  folly  was  it  for  you  to  provoke  God 
and  slight  Christ  for  a  little  worldly  profit,  or  a  little  brutish 
pleasure!  Can  these  relieve  you^when  the  arrows  of  the 
Almighty  stick  within  you,  and  the  terrors  of  God  do  set 
themselves  in  array  against  thy  soul  ?  In  the  mean  time 
the  devil,  that  tempted  you  to  your  soul-ruining  course,  will 


THE   UNREOENERATE   IN  AFFLICTION.        HI 

step  in  and  represent  your  sins  in  their  blackest  colors  and 
aggravations,  to  render  you  altogether  hopeless  and  despe- 
rate. 0  sinner,  thou  that  refusest  rest  from  Christ  in  the 
day  of  health  and  grace,  shalt  find  no  ease  from  created 
things  in  the  day  of  sickness  and  death.  Your  sickness  will 
allow  no  rest  to  your  body,  and  your  sin  will  permit  no  ease 
to  your  soul.  You  may  expect  the  fulfilling  of  the  threaten- 
ing in  Deut.  28  :  65—67  :  "The  Lord  shall  give  thee  a  trem- 
bling heart,  and  failing  of  eyes,  and  sorrow  of  mind.  And 
thy  life  shall  hang  in  doubt  before  thee,  and  thou  shalt  fear 
day  and  night.  In  the  morning  thou  shalt  say,  Would  God 
it  were  even;  and  at  even  thou  shalt  say.  Would  God  it 
were  morning,"  because  of  the  pain  of  thy  body  and  anguish 
of  thy  spirit. 

Direction  2.  Let  unregenerate  persons  carefully  improve  their 
sickness  and  affliction  as  means  to  further  their  conversion, 
and  pray  that  God  may  bless  it  for  that  end. 

Many  have  begun  their  acquaintance  with  God  and  with 
themselves  in  the  time  of  affliction  ;  the  furnace  is  frequently 
the  Spirit's  laboratory,  where  he  forms  his  vessels  of  praise. 
There  are  many  who,  while  health  and  strength  continue, 
mind  nothing  but  vain  pleasures.  One  day  they  go  to  their 
games  and  sports,  another  day  to  their  cups  and  lascivious 
company,  another  day  to  visiting  their  friends ;  and  thus 
they  spend  the  whole  time  of  their  health  and  prosperity  in 
sin  and  vanity.  All  the  warnings,  counsels,  and  exhorta- 
tions of  parents,  friends,  and  ministers,  do  them  no  good , 
they  cannot  endure  to  entertain  a  serious  thought  of  God  oi 
of  Christ,  of  death,  of  heaven,  or  of  hell,  or  judgment  to 
come.  But  when  God  doth  cast  them  into  sickness  or  some 
great  affliction,  they,  through  the  blessing  of  God,  begin  to 
come  to  themselves  like  the  prodigal,  and  think  of  returning 
again  to  their  Father.  Several  instances  to  this  purpose 
might  be  given.  The  earl  of  Rochester  is  a  late  one,  whose 
life  was  notoriously  lewd,  profane,  and  atheistical,  and  who 


112  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

had  wickedly  employed  his  wit  and  talents  to  ridicule  all 
religion  ;  yet  when  he  was  afflicted  with  pain  and  sickness, 
and  brought  to  the  gates  of  death,  he  began  to  entertain 
quite  other  apprehensions  than  he  had  done  before  ;  he  pro- 
fessed he  had  serious  and  reverend  thoughts  of  religion  and 
holiness,  which  before  he  laughed  at ;  he  most  earnestly  and 
affectionately  warned  others  to  abandon  their  evil  courses, 
and  to  live  religiously  and  soberly,  and  to  look  upon  religion 
as  the  greatest  reality  in  the  world ;  he  retracted  all  his 
impious  and  profane  language  wherewith  he  used  to  reflect 
on  the  ways  of  godliness,  and  willingly  attested  all  this 
under  his  hand. 

Pray  then  for  the  divine  blessing  on  your  sickness,  that 
it  may  contribute  to  the  conversion  of  your  soul,  which  it 
doth  in  several  ways  : 

1 .  By  opening  men's  eyes  to  get  a  true  sight  of  things, 
to  behold  religion  in  its  true  shape,  and  sin  in  its  proper  col- 
ors;  hence  the  rod  is  said  to  give  wisdom.  Prov.  29  :  15. 
They  who  have  mocked  at  religion,  and  made  light  of  sin 
all  their  days,  have  been  taught  by  bodily  sickness  to  change 
their  tune.  Then  they  begin  to  have  an  esteem  of  the  Bible, 
and  to  value  and  send  for  pious  ministers,  and  to  desire  the 
prayers  of  the  people  of  God.  Now  they  perceive  sin  to  be 
bitter  as  gall  and  wormwood,  they  loathe  and  abhor  that 
which  they  liked  before ;  now  the  word  of  God  makes  a 
deep  impression  on  them,  and  particularly  such  a  word  as 
that  in  Jeremiah  2  :  19  :  "Know  therefore  and  see  that  it 
is  an  evil  thing  and  bitter,  that  thou  hast  forsaken  the  Lord 
thy  God." 

2.  Sickness  helps  to  set  the  word  preached  home  upon 
the  heart.  When  God  speaks  to  us  in  the  day  of  health  and 
prosperity,  we  often  give  him  a  deaf  ear,  Jer.  22  :  21 ;  but 
when  distress  comes,  it  brings  the  words  of  God  and  of  his 
ministers  to  our  remembrance,  as  it  brought  Joseph  to  the 
remembrance  of  his  brethren.     Gen.  42  :  21. 


THE   UNREaENERATE   IN   AFFLICTION.        113 

3.  Sickness  contributes  to  loosen  a  man's  heart  from  the 
world,  and  to  cool  his  love  thereto  ;  whereby  a  great  hinder- 
ance  of  conversion  is  removed  out  of  the  way,  and  the  man 
is  made  to  say,  "How  vain  and  helpless  are  the  world's 
comforts  to  me  now.  Those  things  I  delighted  in  formerly 
are  tasteless  to  me  at  this  time.  There  is  no  portion  can 
suit  my  soul's  needs  but  God  himself" 

4.  It  spurs  a  man  on  to  prayer  that  formerly  neglected 
it.  When  the  prodigal  is  brought  to  distress,  he  says,  "  I 
will'  arise  and  go  to  my  father."  He  forgot  his  father  before, 
but  now  he  will  address  him.  "  In  their  affliction  they  will 
seek  me  early."  Hosea  5  :  15.  Thus  the  Lord  frequently 
begins  and  promotes  the  conversion  of  souls  to  himself  And 
0  sinner,  if  this  be  the  fruit  of  thy  sickness,  it  will  not  be 
unto  death,  but  to  the  glory  of  God. 

Direction  3.  Be  careful  to  obey  God's  voice  in  the  rod,  and 
beware  of  slighting  it. 

Every  sickness  hath  a  message  from  God,  and  his  voice 
you  ought  to  hearken  to  with  reverence  and  attention. 
Micah  6:9.  What  saith  he  to  you  at  this  time  ?  0  sin- 
ner, he  saith,  "Retire  from  the  world,  think  on  death  and 
eternity,  abhor  those  lusts  and  idols  which  God  is  smiting 
you  for,  flee  speedily  to  the  stronghold ;  repent  and  be  con- 
verted, that  your  sins  may  be  blotted  out."  This  is  God's 
voice  to  you  ;  and  consider  how  provoking  it  will  be  to  him 
if  you  slight  it. 

1 .  You  will  provoke  God  to  slight  your  voice  when  you 
cry  to  him,  and  stop  his  ear  against  the  voice  of  your  sup- 
plications. -  Zech.  7  :  13. 

2.  You  will  provoke  God  to  cease  from  being  a  reprover 
to  you,  so  that  he  will  speak  to  you  no  more. 

3.  You  will  provoke  him  to  bring  heavier  judgments  on 
you,  yea,  so  to  draw  his  sword  of  justice  against  you,  that 
he  will  sheathe  it  no  more,  as  he  threatens,  Ezek  21  :  5. 

4.  God  may  break  off  all  intercourse  and  correspond- 


114'  AFFLICTED  MAN'S   COMPANION. 

ence  with  you,  as  with  those  addressed  in  Ezek.  20  :  31  : 
"  As  I  live,  saith  the  Lord  God,  I  will  not  be  inquired  of 
by  you." 

5.  He  may  seal  you  up  for  ever  under  your  sins,  hard- 
ness, and  pollution,  and  say  to  you  as  to  some  we  read  of, 
"  Because  I  have  purged  thee,  and  thou  wast  not  purged, 
thou  shalt  not  be  purged  from  thy  filthiness  any  more,  till  I 
have  caused  my  fury  to  rest  upon  thee."  Ezek.  24  :  13 
"  Ephraim  is  joined  to  his  idols ;  let  him  alone."  Hos.  4:17. 
"He  that  is  filthy,  let  him  be  filthy  still."  Rev.  22  :  11. 
He  that  is  hardened  against  the  voice  of  my  rods,  let  him  be 
hardened  still.  Well  then,  0  sinner,  while  God  is  speaking 
with  you,  hearken  to  his  voice,  and  obey  it ;  say,  "  Lord, 
what  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do  ?" 

Direction  4.  Cast  back  your  eyes  upon  the  sins  of  your  past 
life,  and  labor  to  be  deeply  humbled  for  them  before  the 
Lord. 

Seeing  you  are  summoned  to  prepare  for  going  to  the 
judgment-seat  of  God,  where  your  soul  is  to  receive  its  final 
sentence,  labor  to  prevent  the  terror  of  that  appearance  by 
your  judging  yoiirself- beforehand.  And  this  you  must  do, 
by  summoning  yourself  before  the  bar  of  conscience,  exam- 
ining carefully  into  your  state,  accusing  and  condemning 
yourself  for  your  sins.  And  see  that  you  be  impartial  in 
this  work,  willing  to  know  the  truth,  and  discover  the  worst 
of  your  case.  You  must  see  and  be  duly  sensible  of  your 
danger ;  otherwise  you  cannot  think  to  escape.  Take  a 
close  view  of  your  sins,  in  their  nature,  aggravations,  and 
deservings.  And  in  order  to  this,  if  you  have  any  measure 
of  strength  for  it,  let  the  exposition  of  the  ten  command- 
ments in  the  catechism  be  distinctly  read  to  you.  Make  a 
pause  upon  every  question,  and  say  within  thyself,  "Have, 
I  not  omitted  what  is  here  required  by  God ;  and  have  I 
not  committed  what  is  here  forbidden  by  God  ?  How  oft 
have  1  repeated  those  sins ;  how  long  have  I  lived  in  the 


THE  UNREaENERATE   IN  AFFLICTION.        115 

practice  of  them.  Oh,  do  not  so  many  years'  sins  need  a 
very  serious  repentance,  a  very  deep  humiliation  ?  Oh,  doth 
not  such  a  vile  sinner  as  I  stand  greatly  in  need  of  Christ  to 
be  my  ransom  for  such  a  vast  number  of  sins ;  will  not  their 
weight  press  me  eternally  down  to  the  lowest  hell,  if  they 
remain  unpardoned,  and  be  laid  upon  my  head  ?"  Where- 
fore view  them  closely,  and  confess  them  particularly  before 
God. 

1.  Bewail  thy  original  sin,  the  fountain  of  all  thy  ac- 
tual transgressions,  as  did  David:  "Behold,  I  was  shapen 
in  iniquity,  and  in  sin  did  my  mother  conceive  me."  Psalm 
51  :  5. 

2.  Acknowledge  and  mourn  over  the  sinful  outbreakings 
of  thy  life,  whereby  thou  hast  dishonored  God  and  grieved 
his  Holy  Spirit;  and  especially  sins  against  light. 

3.  Be  humbled  for  thy  sins  of  omission,  for  neglect  of 
commanded  duties ;  particularly  for  the  neglect  of  prayer  in 
secret  and  of  family  religion. 

4.  Mourn  for  the  loss  of  precious  time.  Alas,  for  the 
time  of  youth  misspent,  the  many  Sabbath-days  trifled 
away. 

5.  Lament  thy  long  slighting  of  Christ  and  salvation 
through  his  righteousness,  which  hath  been  so  pressingly 
offered  to  thee  in  the  gospel. 

6.  Bewail  thy  stifling  the  convictions  and  quenching 
the  motions  of  the  Spirit,  and  thereby  provoking  him  to 
depart  from  you. 

7.  Mourn  for  thy  unthankfulness  to  God  for  mercies  and 
deliverances,  which  might  have  allured  you  to  repentance 
and  newness  of  life. 

8.  Confess  tky  stubbornness  under  former  afflictions, 
which  hath  provoked  God  to  send  new  trials  upon  you. 

9.  Be  humbled  for  thy  earthly-mindedness,  in  that  thou 
hast  all  thy  days  been  careful  and  cumbered  about  many 
things,  and  hast  neglected  the  one  thing  needful. 


116  AFFLICTED  MAN^S   COMPANION. 

10.  Mourn  for  the  lateness  of  thy  repentance,  and  thy 
amazmg  folly  in  delaying  so  long  to  bethink  thyself  and 
turn  to  the  Lord.  "  0  how  unwisely  have  I  acted,  to  mis- 
spend the  time  of  health,  and  delay  so  great  a  work  till 
now  that  I  am  laid  on  a  sick-bed ;  and  now,  if  I  die  before 
I  am  converted,  I  am  lost  for  ever.  0  Lord,  I  am  ashamed 
and  confounded  at  my  madness  and  folly,  and  have  no  ex- 
cuse to  plead  for  myself,  but  must  stand  afar  off  with  the 
poor  publican,  and  smite  upon  my  breast  and  cry,  *  God  be 
merciful  to  jne  a  sinner.' " 

Direction  5.  Flee  immediately  to  Jesus  Christ  by  a  true  faith, 
and  close  with  him  as  offered  to  you  in  the  gospel. 

Art  thou  sensible,  0  sinner,  of  thy  grievous  guilt  and 
ill-deservings  before  God?  Then  do  not  despair;  for  Jesus 
Christ,  who  hath  offered  to  divine  justice  an  all-sufficient 
sacrifice  for  sin,  is  offering  himself  to  thee,  saying,  "  0  dis- 
tressed sinner,  look  unto  me  and  be  saved.  Turn  unto  me ; 
why  will  you  die?  Come  unto  me,  heavy-laden  soul,  and  I 
will  give  you  rest.  Him  that  cometh  to  me,  I  will  in  no- 
wise cast  out."  Will  not  such  gracious  words,  such  moving 
calls,  melt  thy  heart  within  thee,  and  make  thee  cry  to  him, 
"  Lord  Jesus,  I  flee  to  thee  as  my  refuge  for  deliverance  from 
sin  and  protection  from  the  wrath  to  come.  I  look  to  thy 
wounds,  I  trust  in  thy  righteousness,  I  depend  on  thy  merit, 
I  lie  at  thy  feet :  and  this  I  am  resolved  to  do  as  long  as  I 
have  breath  to  draw  in  the  world." 

Direction  6.  Call  for  the  elders  of  the  churchj  that  they  may 
pray  over  you  in  your  sickness. 

This  is  the  apostle  James'  direction  to  the  sick,  James 
5  :  14  ;  he  doth  not  say,  if  any  be  sick  let  him  send  for  the 
physicians,  but  for  the  elders  or  ministers. 

It  is  true,  physicians  are  to  be  called,  but  not  in  the  first 
place.  It  was  Asa's  fault  that  in  his  disease  he  sought  not 
to  the  Lord,  but  to  the  physicians ;  and,  alas,  how  many 


THE  UNREaENERATE  IN  AFFLICTION.       117 

follow  his  example.  Ministers  are  only  called  for  in  the  last 
place,  and  very  often  when  the  time  is  past,  the  sick  being 
at  the  point  of  death  and  scarcely  able  to  speak  or  hear. 
But  if  you  desire  to  reap  benefit  by  the  instructions  and 
prayers  of  ministers,  call  for  them  early,  and  open  your  case 
to  them  ;  seek  their  counsel  and  beg  for  their  prayers.  It  is 
their  office  to  teach  and  pray  for  you,  and  they  have  author- 
ity to  offer  salvation  to  you  through  Christ,  and  to  minister 
comfort  to  them  that  are  cast  down ;  wherefore  a  blessing 
may  be  expected  on  their  ministrations  and  performances 
more  than  others.  Hence  God  said  to  Abimelech  of  Abra- 
ham, "He  is  a  prophet,  and  he  shall  pray  for  thee."  Gen. 
20  :  7.  And  to  Job's  friends  concerning  Job,  "  Go  to  my 
servant  Job,  and  he  shall  pray  for  you;  for  him  will  I  ac- 
cept ;  lest  I  deal  with  you  after  your  folly."     Job  42  :  8. 

And  lastly,  remember  that  as  the  apostle  James  enjoins 
the  sick  to  call  for  the  elders  to  pray  over  them,  so  at  the 
same  time  he  directs  you  to  confess  your  faults  one  to  an- 
other, Christian  to  Christian,  one  friend  to  another;  the  peo- 
ple to  their  minister.  James  5:16.  Not  that  this  gives 
any  warrant  to  the  papists  for  auricular  confession  to  their 
priests,  which  they  force  upon  all  men  as  a  satisfaction  for 
sin,  and  whereby  they  rack  their  consciences,  when  they  feel 
no  distress,  to  confess  their  most  secret  sins,  to  enumerate 
them  all  under  pain  of  damnation,  and  which  they  use  as  a 
device  to  dive  into  the  secrets  of  princes,  states,  and  all  pri- 
vate persons.  But,  as  Luther,  Calvin,  Beza,  and  many  or- 
thodox divines  do  teach,  it  is  very  profitable  and  necessary 
for  those  that  are  inwardly  troubled  with  a  sense  of  their 
sins,  to  ease  and  disburden  their  consciences  by  confession  to 
the  faithful  ministers  of  Christ,  in  order  to  receive  from  them 
suitable  counsels  and  consolations,  such  as  Christ  hath  left 
in  his  word  for  contrite-hearted  penitents. 

Thus  let  every  man  in  sickness  use  all  appointed  means 
for  preparing  his  soul  for  a  future  state.     Thy  preparation 


118  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

will  by  no  means  hasten  death,  but  sweeten  it  to  you.  Death 
must  surely  have  a  most  formidable  aspect  to  an  unprepared 
sinner:  he  may  salute  it  as  Ahab  did  Elijah,  "Hast  thou 
found  me,  0  mine  enemy?"  Why?  it  brings  heavy  and 
doleful  tidings  to  him.'  But  a  prepared  soul  may  salute 
death,  Welcome,  0  my  friend,  thou  bringest  me  tidings  of 
great  joy ;  everlasting  deliverance  from  sin  and  all  the  bitter 
fruits  of  it.     1  shall  never  complain  of  these  any  more. 


BELIEVERS  RECOVERED.  119 

CHAPTER   V. 

DIRECTIONS  TO  THE  PEOPLE  OF  GOD  WHEN  THE  LORD  IS 
PLEASED  TO  RECOVER  THEM  FROM  SICKNESS  AND  DIS- 
TRESS. 

Direction  1 .  It  is  very  proper,  both  under  sickness  and  after  it, 
to  examine  if  the  affliction  be  sanctified  to  you,  and  hatli 
come  from  the  love  of  God. 

It  would  be  very  comforting  for  us  to  know  that  the 
afflictions  which  God  visits  us  with,  are  not  the  punishment 
of  a  judge,  but  the  chastisement  of  a  father — that  they  do 
not  proceed  from  wrath,  but  from  love — that  they  are  not 
curses,  but  blessings  to  us.  Now  the  best  way  of  knowing 
this,  is  by  the  effects  which  they  produce  in  us,  through  the 
blessing  of  God. 

1.  Canst  thou  say  that  thy  affliction  hath  humbled  thee 
in  the  sight  of  God,  and  made  thee  confess  and  bewail  thy 
sins  and  str-ayings  from  God  as  the  procuring  cause  thereof? 
Hath  it  been  like  Moses'  rod  that  smote  the  rock  and  drew 
out  much  water  ?  Did  you  water  your  couch  with  tears, 
and  mourn  humbly  before  God  for  all  thy  God-provoking 
sins  ?     Then  it  is  a  good  sign  that  sickness  is  sanctified. 

2.  Doth  thy  affliction  drive  thee  nearer  God,  and  cause 
thee  to  aim  at  closer  communion  with  God  in  duty  than 
formerly,  saying,  "  However  careless  and  formal  I  have 
been  in  duty  in  time  past,  it  is  surely  good  for  me  now  to 
draw  near  to  God?"  Then  thy  sickness  is  a  blessing  to 
thee. 

3.  Affliction  is  sanctified  when  the  corruption  and  de- 
ceitfulness  of  the  heart  is  the  more  discovered  and  laid  open 
to  the  view  of  the  soul,  so  that  the  man  is  made  to  abhor 
himself  in  dust  and  ashes,  and  cry  out  like  the  leper,  "  'Un- 
clean, unclean  !'  I  never  could  have  thought  my  heart  was 
so  wicked  as  now  I  see  it." 

4.  It  is  a  sanctified  sickness,  that  purgeth  the  heart  and 


120  AFFLICTED  MAN'S   COMPANION. 

changeth  the  life,  and  gives  a  death-stroke  to  thy  sins  and 
idols,  and  makes  thee  to  loathe  and  abhor  them  more  than 
ever,  saying  with  Ephraim,  "What  have  I  to  do  any  more 
with  idols?" 

5.  It  is  a  blessed  rod  when  graces  are  more  quickened 
and  stirred  up  thereby,  and  the  man  turns' more  fruitful  in 
holy  duties  and  good  works ;  then  it  is  a  budding  and  blos- 
soming rod  like  to  Aaron's.  Numbers  17.  It  is  recorded 
there  of  Aaron's  rod,  that  it  brought  forth  buds,  blooming 
blossoms,  and  yielding  almonds.  So  it  is  happy  with  us 
when  our  rods  and  sickness,  not  only  produce  in  us  the  buds 
of  a  profession,  and  the  blossoms  of  some  beginnings  of  a 
reformation,  but  even  cause  us  to  yield  fruits  savory  to  God. 
Is  conscience  become  more  tender  with  respect  to  sin  ?  Are 
we  more  jealous  over  our  hearts  ?  Are  we  more  fervent  in 
prayer,  more  lively  in  praise,  more  mortiJfied  to  the  world, 
more  desirous  of  communion  with  God  ?  Then  may  we  say 
with  David,  "  It  is  good  for  us  that  we  have  been  afflicted  ;" 
and  with  Hezekiah,  "Thou  hast,  in  love  to  my  soul,  deliv- 
ered it  from  the  pit  of  corruption." 

Direction  2.  Make  conscience  of  offering  to  God  the  sacrifice  of 
thanksgiving,  upon  his  recovering  thee  from  sickness  or  any 
distress. 

The  psalmist  gives  us  this  direction  from  God,  Psalm 
50  :  14,  15  ;  and  he  shows  us  that  it  was  his  own  practice 
in  such  a  case.  Psalm  116  :  17,  and  103  : 1,  2,  3.  The  com- 
mand is  just,  let  us  obey  it;  the  example  is  excellent,  let 
us  imitate  it.  Praise  is  comely  for  the  upright.  Here  I 
shall  give  some  motives  to  thanksgiving. 

1.  God,  who  is  the  author  of  all  thy  mercies  and  deliv- 
erances, gives  you  tongues  for  this  very  end,  that  you  may 
bless  and  praise  him  for  these  mercies.  James  3:9.  Hence 
man's  tongue  is  called  his  glory  above  the  rest  of  the  crea- 
tures. Psalm  57  :  8.  There  is  none  in  the  earth  so  endued 
and  qualified  for  praising  God   as  man  is.     Beasts  have 


BELIEVERS  RECOVERED.  121 

tongues,  but  without  speech  or  reason  to  use  them  ;  but  man 
hath  both  reason  and  speech,  that  he  may  both  admire  God's 
goodness,  and  with  his  tongue  sound  forth  God's  praise. 
See  then,  0  believer,  that  you  use  your  tongue  to  answer  the 
end  of  your  creation.  God  expects  his  due  revenue  of  praise 
from  his  children,  whom  he  hath  formed  for  this  end,  and  on 
whom  he  hath  bestowed  many  distinguishing  favors. 

2.  The  sacrifice  of  thanksgiving  is  most  pleasing  and 
acceptable  to  God.  He  loves  your  tears  and  prayers,  0  be- 
liever, but  much  more  your  praises.  How  well  pleased  was 
our  Lord  with  the  poor  Samaritan  leper  that  returned  and 
gave  him  thanks  for  curing  his  bodily  distemper.  Luke 
17  :  19.  He  dismissed  him  with  a  special  blessing,  and 
cured  him  of  his  soul's  diseases  as  well  as  of  his  body's. 
And  therefore, 

3.  Consider  that  thankfulness  for  thy  mercies  received 
is  a  most  profitable  course  for  yourself;  for  it  is  the  way  to 
get  more  and  better  blessings  bestowed  upon  you,  according 
to  Psalm  67  :  5,  6  :  "Let  the  people  praise  thee,  0  God  ;  let 
all  the  people  praise  thee.  Then  shall  the  earth  yield  her 
increase ;  and  God,  even  our  own  God,  shall  bless  us." 
Thanksgiving  for  former  mercies  is  a  kindly  way  of  petition- 
ing for  new  favors,  and  God.  will  understand  it  in  this  sense. 

4.  God  is  so  well  pleased  with  the  duty  of  thanksgiving, 
that  he  honors  it  to  be  the  eternal  work  of  heaven ;  whereas 
other  graces,  such  as  faith,  hope,  and  repentance,  will  then 
be  melted  into  love  and  joy  for  ever  ;  so  other  duties  of  wor- 
ship, such  as  reading,  hearing,  and  prayer,  will  then  be 
changed  into  that  of  praise  and  thanksgiving.  The  glorified 
company  above  will  never  be  weary  of  this  work ;  and  shall 
not  we  delight  in  it  now,  when  God  is  calling  us  to  it  by  so 
many  new  mercies  ? 

And  that  thou  mayest  offer  the  sacrifice  of  thanksgiving 
to  God  for  thy  recovery  with  gracious  acceptance,  I  shall  lay 
before  you  the  following  advices  :  ,  - 

Affl.  Man's  Comp.  6    '  ' 


V. 


invB 


^ZlPQ'S.t)^' 


122  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

1 .  See  that  your  heart  be  touched  with  a  sense  of  the 
greatness  of  the  mercy,  and  of  the  goodness  of  God  mani- 
fested therein.  We  must  put  a  due  value  upon  our  mercies, 
and  have  our  hearts  affected  with  God's  kind  deahng  tow- 
ards us  in  them,  if  we  would  be  rightly  thankful  to  God  the 
author  of  them.  Hence  it  was  that  David  called  upon  his 
heart,  and  all  within  him,  to  bless  the  Lord  for  his  benefits, 
Psalm  103  :  1  ;  and  in  Psalm  138  : 1,  he  saith,  "  I  will  praise 
thee  with  my  whole  heart."  As  an  instrument  of  music  is 
the  sweeter  the  more  full  and  rich  its  volume  of  sound,  so 
our  praise  is  the  more  acceptable  to  God  when  the  heart  is 
full  of  gracious  affections. 

2.  Let  your  praise  be  the  result  of  genuine  faith  and  love 
in  your  soul,  otherwise  it  will  be  an  empty  sound.  Faith  is 
necessary  to  draw  the  veil,  and  show  us  the  perfections  of  the 
invisible  God,  who  is  the  spring  and  author  of  all  our  mercies ; 
love  gives  a  deep  sense  of  his  goodness,  enlarges  the  heart 
towards  God,  aiid  opens  the  lips  to  show  forth  his  praise. 

3.  Study  to  have  a  deep  sense  of  your  own  unworthiness 
and  ill  desert  at  the  Lord's  hand  on  account  of  your  sins, 
and  ill  improvement  of  former  deliverances,  saying  with 
Jacob,  *'  I  am  not  worthy  of  the  least  of  all  thy  mercies." 
Gen.  32  :  10. 

4.  Look  above  instruments  and  second  causes,  and  do 
not  ascribe  your  recovery  to  physicians  or  outward  means, 
but.  to  the  Lord,  the  prime  author  of  it,  whose  blessing 
alone  it  is  that  gives  efficacy  and  success  to  the  appointed 
means,  and  by  whose  mercy  only  we  are  spared,  and  brought 
back  from  the  gates  of  the  grave.  To  this  the  apostle  attrib- 
utes Epaphroditus'  recovery  :  "  Indeed,  he  was  sick  nigh 
unto  death,  but  God.  had  mercy  on  him."  Phil.  2:27. 
Hence  we' are  told,  "The  Lord  bringeth  down  to  the  grave, 
and  bringeth  up."     1  Sam.  2  :  6. 

5.  Observe  closely  the  remarkable  circumstances  of  the 
Lord's  goodness,  and  the  sweet  ingredients  of  thy  mercies. 


BELIEVERS  RECOVERED.  123 

As,  for  instance,  how  discernible  the  Lord's  hand  was  in  thy 
dehverance,  which  obligeth  thee  to  say,  Surely  this  is  the 
iinger  of  God  ;  this  is  the  Lord's  doing,  and  it  is  marvellous 
in  mine  eyes  :  how  thy  deliverance  came  to  thee  as  the 
return  of  prayer,  that  makes  thee  say.  Surely  he  is  a  prayer- 
hearing  God  :  how  deliverance  came  when  there  was  but 
little  ground  to  hope  for  it,  See  how  Hezekiah  observed 
this  ingredient  in  his  recovery  from  sickness :  "  I  said,  in  the 
cutting  ofl'  of  my  days,  I  shall  go  to  the  gates  of  the  grave  ; 
I  am  deprived  of  the  residue  of  my  years.  I  said,  I  shall 
not  see  the  Lord,  even  the  Lord,  in  the  land  of  the  living ; 
I  shall  behold  man  no  more  with  the  inhabitants  of  the 
world."  Isa.  38  :  10,  11.  "What  shall  I  say?  he  hath 
both  spoken  unto  me,  and  himself  hath  done  it,"  Yerse  15. 
Sometimes  God  sends  deliverances  to  his  people  when  they 
are  most  hopeless,  and  saying,  with  the  captives  of  Babylon, 
"Behold,  our  bones  are  dried,  and  our  hope  is  lost;  we 
are  cut  off  for  our  parts."  Ezek.  37  :  11.  Remember,  also, 
how  the  extremity  of  thy  distress  was  God's  opportunity  of 
sending  relief.  Abraham  never  forgot  the  season ableness  of 
God's  appearing  for  him  in  his  extreme  need  upon  mount 
Moriah,  when  he  called  the  name  of  the  place  Jehovah- 
jireh,^  for  preserving  the  memorial  of  it :  "  In  the  mount  of 
the  Lord  it  will  be  seen."  So  doth  David,  "  I  was  brought 
low,  and  he  helped  me."     Psalm  116  :  6. 

6.  Let  the  present  deliverance  bring  all  former  mercies 
to  thy  remembrance,  that  so  thou  may  est  praise  God  for 
them  all,  whether  they  be  national  or  personal  mercies, 
public  or  private,  spiritual  or  temporal.  New  mercies  should 
revive  the  memory  of  the  old,  and  all  of  them  should  be  re- 
membered at  such  a  time  ;  so  doth  the  psalmist  direct,  "  Sing 
unto  the  Lord ;  talk  ye  of  aM.  his  wondrous  works."  Psalm 
105  :  2.  And  what  he  directs  others  to,  he  himself  prac- 
tises :  "  What  shall  I  render  unto  the  Lord  for  all  his  bene- 
fits towards  me  ?"     Psalm  116:12. 


124  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

7.  Be  ready  to  communicate  to  others  an  account  of  the 
Lord's  kind  dealings  towards  you,  and  the  sweet  ingredients 
of  his  mercies ;  and  particularly  of  his  sending  spiritual  de- 
liverance to  your  soul,  as  w^ell  as  outward  deliverance  to 
your  body,  when  he  is  pleased  to  do  so.  And  do  this  in 
order  to  recommend  the  service  of  God  to  others,  and  to  in- 
vite and  engage  them  to  assist  you  in  blessing  and  praising 
the  Lord.  We  see  how  David  observed  his  soul  deliverances. 
Psalm  116  : 7,  8,  and  declares  his  experience  to  others:  "I 
will  declare  thy  name  unto  my  brethren ;  in  the  midst  of  the 
congregation  will  I  praise  thee."  Psalm  22  :  22.  *'  Come 
and  hear,  all  ye  that  fear  God,  and  I  will  declare  what  he 
hath  done  for  my  soul."     Psalm  66  :  16. 

8.  Remember  always  to  give  thanks  for  mercies  to  the 
Father,  in  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  as  directed  in 
Eph.  5  :  20.  Your  spiritual  sacrifices  are  only  acceptable  to 
God  when  you  offer  them  up  by  Jesus  Christ.  1  Peter, 
2:5.  As  we  must  seek  all  our  mercies  in  Christ's  name,  so 
we  must  give  thanks  for  them  also  in  his  name.  He  is  the 
Mediator  of  our  praises,  as  well  as  our  prayers:  behevers 
have  not  one  mercy  but  what  comes  swimming  to  them  in 
Christ's  blood,  and  is  the  fruit  of  his  death  and  purchase  to 
them ;  and  therefore  he  is  to  be  owned  and  looked  to  m  the 
receiving  of  every  mercy.  And  as  Christ  is  the  only  medi- 
ator for  conveying  blessings  and  mercies  from  God  to  us,  so 
he  is  the  sole  mediator  for  conveying  all  our  services  and 
spiritual  sacrifices  to  God.  God  accepts  of  them  only  as 
they  are  perfumed  by  Christ's  meritorious  sacrifice  and  po- 
tent intercession. 

Direction  3.  When  the  Lord  is  pleased  to  grant  thee  any  signal 
mercy  or  deliverance  from  trouble,  beware  of  forgetting  the 
Lord's  kindness  towards  thee. 

Forgetting  of  God's  remarkable  kind  providences  is  an 
evil  we  are  naturally  prone  to  when  we  are  in  a  prosperous 
state.     Hence  it  is  that  the  Spirit  of  God  gives  so  many 


BELIEVERS   RECOVERED.  125 

cautions  against  it  in  his  word  ;  and  the  saints  of  God  do  so 
solemnly  charge  their  own  souls  to  heware  of  it,  as  in  Psalm 
103  :  2  :  "Bless  the  Lord,  0  my  soul,  and  forget  not  all  his 
benefits;  who  healeth  all  thy  diseases,  who  redeemeth  thy 
life  from  destruction."  Forget  not  his  benefits,  but  carefully 
preserve  and  treasure  them  up  in  thy  memory.  It  was  usual 
for  saints  under  the  Old  Testament  to  set  up  some  visible 
monument  to  remind  them  of  God's  singular  favors  to  them  ; 
they  erected  stones  and  built  altars  to  be  memorials  of  the 
mercies  they  received,  and  put  names  on  the  places  for  this 
end.  Let  all  this  teach  you  to  guard  against  this  evil  of 
forgetting  the  Lord's  kind  providence  in  recovering  you  from 
sickness. 

You  are  guilty  of  this  evil  when  you  do  not  duly  value 
the  mercy,  but  let  it  pass  as  a  turn  of  common  providence. 
When  you  let  the  impression  of  the  mercy  soon  wear  off' 
from  your  hearts ;  when  you  make  a  bad  use  of  it,  or  do 
not  rightly  improve  it  to  God's  glory  and  your  own  soul's 
good  ;  when  you  do  not  put  on  new  resolutions  to  walk 
more  exactly,  live  more  fruitfully,  and  serve  God  more  ho- 
lily  and  humbly,  then  are  you  guilty  of  forgetting  his  ben- 
efits. 

This  is  an  evil  most  grievous  and  provoking  to  a  good 
and  gracious  God,  as  is  evident  from  the  many  complaints 
he  makes  of  his  people  for  it,  as  in  Judges  8  :  34 ;  Psalm 
78:11;  106:  13.     Wherefore  watch  and  pray  against  it. 

Direction  4.  Inquire  after  those  fruits  of  righteousness  which 
are  the  genuine  effects  of  affliction  in  the  children  of  God, 
who  are  duly  exercised  thereby. 

The  apostle  speaks  of  these  fruits  as  naturally  following 
upon  sanctified  afflictions,  and  a  kindly  exercise  of  spirit  un- 
der them.  Heb.  12  :  11.  And  therefore  it  is  your  duty  to 
inquire  if  they  be  produced  in  you. 

1.  The  increase  of  true  repentance  is  one  of  these  fruits 
which  is  the  product  of  sanctified  trials.     Job  found  it  in 


126  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

himself  on  the  back  of  his  affliction:  "Wherefore  I  abhor 
myself,  and  repent  in  dust  and  ashes."  Job  42  :  6.  It 
would  be  happy  if  we  could  find  our  hearts  more  soft  and 
melting  on  the  view  of  sin,  after  we  have  been  in  the  fur- 
nace of  affliction. 

2.  Another  fruit  is  the  improvement  of  faith.  The 
afflicted  believer  is  taught  to  look  to,  and  depend  more  upon 
God  for  help  in  time  of  need,  and  less  upon  the  creature. 
He  now  sees  that  vain  is  the  help  of  man  in  the  day  of  ca- 
lamity, and  that  God  in  Christ  is  the  only  proper  object  of 
the  soul's  trust.  This  was  the  fruit  of  the  apostle's  afflic- 
tion :  "We  \^ere  pressed  out  of  measure,  above  strength,  in- 
somuch that  we  despaired  even  of  life.  But  we  had  the 
sentence  of  death  in  ourselves,  that  we  should  not  trust  in 
ourselves,  but  in  God  that  raiseth  the  dead ;  who  delivered 
us  from  so  great  a  death,  and  doth  deliver;  in  whom  we 
trust  that  he  will  yet  deliver."     2  Cor.  1:8-10. 

3.  Humility  and  low  thoughts  of  ourselves  is  another  of 
the  fruits  of  righteousness  which  sanctified  affliction  doth 
yield.  How  proud  and  lofty  was  Nebuchadnezzar  before  he 
was  afflicted.  Dan.  4  :  29,  30.  But  afterwards  he  is  made 
to  own  God,  and  humbly  submit  to  him  as  his  supreme  and 
almighty  Sovereign,  and  to  acknowledge  that  those  who  walk 
in  pride  he  is  able  to  abase.  Verse  37.  This  was  God's  de- 
sign in  the  various  trials  of  his  people  Israel  in  the  wilder- 
ness:  "That  he  might  humble  thee,  that  he  might  prove 
thee,  to  do  thee  good  at  thy  latter  end."  Deut.  8:16.  See 
then,  0  believer,  if  this  fruit  be  produced  in  thee. 

4.  Another  fruit  is  the  spirit  of  prayer  and  supplication. 
This  was  visible  in  the  psalmist's  case,  after  God  had  de- 
livered him  from  the  sorrows  of  death,  and  heard  his  voice : 
"Therefore,"  says  he,  "will  I  call  upon  him  as  long  as  I 
live."  Psalm  116:2.  0,  saith  the  true  believer,  God's 
mercy  to  me  in  trouble,  and  his  sending  me  relief  when  I 
cried  to  him,  will  make  me  love  prayer  the  better,  and  en- 


BELIEVERS  RECOVERED.  127 

gage  me  to  be  more  diligent  in  it  all  my  days ;  for  I  still 
see  I  have  daily  need,  of  his  helping  hand. 

5.  Heavenly-mindedness  is  also  a  fruit  of  sanctified  afflic- 
tion. Before,  the  man  was  inclined  to  say,  It  is  good  for  us 
to  be  here;  let  us  build  tabernacles  in  this  lower  world. 
But  now  he  changeth  his  language  an4  his  thoughts,  and 
saith,  It  is  good  for  me  to  draw  nigh  to  God.  Arise,  let  us 
depart ;  this  is  not  our  rest.  This  world  is  nothing  but  the 
house  of  our  pilgrimage ;  heaven  only  is  our  home. 

6.  Another  fruit  of  sanctified  trials  is  greater  love  to 
God  than  formerly.  How  much  was  David's  heart  warmed 
with  love  and  gratitude  to  God  after  his  affliction,  so  that  he 
wants  words  to  express  the  affections  of  his  soul.  "I  will 
love  the  Lord  because  he  hath  heard  my  voice.  I  was 
brought  low,  and  he  helped  me.  Thou  hast  delivered  my 
soul  from  death,  mine  eyes  from  tears,  and  my  feet  from 
falling.  What  shall  I  render  unto  the  Lord  for  all  his  bene- 
fits towards  me?"     Psalm  116  :  1,  6,  8,  12. 

7.  Learning  and  keeping  of  God's  word  is  likewise  a 
fruit  of  sanctified  affliction.  Psalm  119  :  67,  71.  Let  us 
inquire  if  this  fruit  be  produced  in  us  after  sickness.  Do  we 
attend  to  the  word  more  closely ;  do  we  believe  it  more 
firmly ;  do  we  embrace  its  ofl^ers  more  earnestly ;  and  do 
we  live  more  in  the  expectation  of  that  glory  which  the 
word  doth  reveal  to  us  ?  Then  it  is  good  for  us  that  we 
have  been  afflicted ;  for  we  have  learned  more  of  God's 
word. 

8.  Tenderness  of  conscience  is  a  happy  fruit  of  sanctified 
trouble ;  when  the  believer,  after  it,  becomes  exceedingly 
afraid  of  sin,  and  of  making  new  wounds  in  his  conscience. 
He  cannot  think  of  adventuring  again  upon  any  known  sin ; 
for  the  smart  of  former  wounds,  and  the  pain  they  occasioned 
in  his  soul,  when  distress  lay  upon  him,  makes  a  deep  and 
lasting  impression  on  his  mind,  as  it  did  on  the  afflicted 
church:    "Remembering  mine   affliction    and  my  misery, 


128  AFFLICTED  MAN'S   COMPANION. 

the  wormwood  and  the  gall :  my  soul  hath  them  still  in  re- 
membrance, and  is  humbled  in  me."  Lam.  3  :  19,  20.  Now 
such  fruits  of  righteousness  are  an  evidence  that  we  have 
been  suitably  exercised  under  affliction.  0  to  find  them  pro- 
duced in  us  after  sickness  is  over. 

Direction  5.  Be  careful  to  perform  those  resolutionSj  engage- 
ments, or  vows  you  have  come  under  in  the  time  of  sickness, 
and  walk  suitably  to  them. 

As  a  time  of  sickness  and  affliction  is  a  proper  season  for 
making  vows  to  God,  and  binding  our  souls  with  resolutions 
to  mortify  sin  in  the  heart,  and  purge  it  away  from  the  life, 
to  be  diligent  in  duty,  and  to  walk  more  humbly  with  God ; 
so  a  time  of  recovery  from  sickness  is  a  proper  season  for  pay- 
ing and  performing  these  vows.  This  was  the  royal  psalm- 
ist's practice  in  such  a  case.  "  I  was  brought  low,  and  he 
helped  me.  Truly  I  am  thy  servant,  I  am  thy  servant.  I 
will  offer  to  thee  the  sacrifice  of  thanksgiving.  I  will  pay 
my  vows  unto  the  Lord  now  in  the  presence  of  all  his  peo- 
ple." Psalm  116  :  6,  16-18.  ■Now,  for  your  assistance  in 
this  matter,  I  offer  you  these  few  advices  : 

1.  Defer  not  to  pay  your  vows,  but  be  speedy,  and  take 
the  first  opportunity  to  pay  them.  Delays  in  this  case  are 
most  dangerous.  Solomon,  that  wise  man,  was  sensible  of 
this,  which  made  him  give  thee  this  advice  :  "  When  thou 
vowest  a  vow  unto  God,  defer  not  to  pay  it."     Eccles.  5:4. 

2.  Be  still  jealous  of  thy  heart,  which  is  prone  to  deal 
treacherously  with  God  after  affliction  is  over.  The  Israel- 
ites' practice  is  a  sad  instance  of  this  truth  :  "  When  he  slew 
them,  then  they  sought  him ;  and  they  returned  and  inquir- 
ed early  after  God.  Nevertheless,  they  did  flatter  him  with 
their  mouth,  and  they  lied  unto  him  with  their  tongues  ;  for 
their  heart  was  not  right  with  him,  neither  were  they  stead- 
fast in  his  covenant."  Psalm  78  :  34-37.  The  purposes  of 
many  in  affliction  are  like  the  vows  of  mariners  in  a  storm : 
they  are  the  first  things  which  they  forget  and  break  when 


BELIEVERS  RECOVERED.  129' 

once  they  win  safe  to  the  shore.  However  patient  some 
may  seem  to  he  in  sickness,  yet  when  they  recover  from  it, 
they  soon  return  to  their  old  sins  again.  They  are  hke 
metals  in  a  furnace,  that  melt  and  turn  liquid  while  in  it, 
but  when  out  soon  return  to  their  old  hardness.  There  is 
good  reason  for  that  caution  the  liord  gives  us  in  Mai.  2:16: 
"  Therefore  take  heed  to  your  spirit,  that  ye  deal  not  treach- 
erously." 

3.  Cry  continually  for  strength  from  above  to  enable  you 
to  perform  your  vows.  The  psalmist  took  this  course,  and 
found  it  successful :  "In  the  day  when  I  cried,  thou  answer- 
edst  me,  and  strengthenedst  me  with  strength  in  my  soul." 
Psalm  138  :3.  And  forget  not,  0  believer,  that  God  has 
treasured  up  strength  for  thee  in  thy  head  and  surety  Christ 
Jesus  ;  wherefore  be  still  receiving  from  him,  for  the  perform- 
ing of  all  thy  engagements.  "  My  son,  be  strong  in  the  grace 
that  is  in  Christ  Jesus."  2  Tim.  2:1.  Put  thy  treacherous 
heart  in  thy  Surety's  hand ;  for  though  thou  art  weak,  yet  thy 
E-edeemer  is  strong.  Whenever  therefore  you  perceive  your 
heart  begin  to  start  aside  from  God,  be  sure  to  check  it,  and 
look  up  to  God  in  Christ  for  strength  to  secure  you  against 
its  treachery  and  perfidious  dealing  :  cry  with  the  psalmist^ 
"  Be  surety  for  thy  servant  for  goodr" 

4.  Guard  diligently  against  thy  predominant  sin,  the  sin 
that  hath  most  easily  beset  thee,  the  sin  that  was  most  bit- 
ter and  uneasy  to  thee  in  the  day  of  distress.  Keep  a  nar- 
row eye  upon  it  now  ;  for  if  once  that  sin  be  vanquished,  the 
rest  will  the  more  easily  be  put  to  flight. 

5.  Be  frequently  meditating  on  thy  vows,  and  on  the 
condition  thou  wast  in  when. they  were  made  ;  and  study  to 
keep  alive  in  thy  heart  the  same  apprehension  of  things  after 
sickness,  which  thou  hadst  in  the  time  of  it.  How  vain  and 
comfortless  did  the  world  and  its  vanities  then  appear  to 
thee  ;  how  awful  were  the  truths  of  God  on  thy  spirits  ;  how 
far  preferable  was  the  loving-kindness  of  God  to  thee  than. 


130  AFFLfCTED  MAN'S   COMPANION. 

life  ;  how  precious  was  Christ  then  in  thy  eyes.  0  that  your 
judgment,  thoughts,  and  impressions  of  these  things  may 
continue  still  the  same, 

6.  Keep  vivid  your  impressions  of  the  preciousness  of 
time,  that  you  may  dihgently  improve  it;  and  shake  off 
sloth  and  idleness.  Remember  what  a  view  you  got  in  the 
time  of  sickness  of  long-lasting  eternity  ;  and  what  a  trouble 
it  was  to  you  to  look  back  and  see  how  much  time  you  had 
lost  in  sin  and  vanity.  When  sometimes  we  are  brought  to 
the  brink  of  eternity,  the  near  views  we  then  get  of  its 
vastness  and  unchangeableness  are  frequently  so  awful  and 
amazing  to  us,  that  we  are  ready  to  think,  though  we  had 
Methuselah's  years  to  live,  it  would  be  unreasonable  wilfully 
to  misspend  one  hour  of  them  all.  Well,  then,  is  sickness 
over,  our  time  so  short,  and  so  little  of  it  remaining  behind : 
will  we  be  so  foolish  as  to  be  lavish  of  it  still,  and  trifle  it 
away  as  before  ? 

7.  Set  a  special  mark  upon  all  those  sins,  whether  of 
omission  or  commission,  that  made  death  look  grim  and 
ghastly  upon  you  in  the  time  of  sickness,  and  against  which 
you  resolved ;  and  see  to  get  every  one .  of  them  amended 
and  removed.  Remember  and  consider  how  sad  it  will  be 
for  you,  if  sickness  find  you  again  in  the  very  same  sins 
which  formerly  stung  you.  What  will  you  say  to  conscience, 
when  it  shall  challenge  you  ?  How  will  you  look  death  in 
the  face,  if  it  should  find  you  living  in  the  very  same  sins 
you  formerly  mourned  for,  and  promised  against  ?  Death 
would  then  be  the  king  of  terrors  to  thy  soul  indeed. 

0  then  mind  thy  vows,  and  say  with  the  psalmist,  "Thy 
vows  are  upon  me,  0  God ;  I  will  render  praises  unto  thee. 
For  thou  hast  delivered  my  soul  from  death :  wilt  not  thou 
deliver  my  feet  from  falhng,  that  I  may  walk  before  God  in 
the  light  of  the  living?"     Psalm  56  :  12,  13. 


THE   UNREGENERATE   RESTORED.  131 


CHAPTER   VI. 

DIRECTIONS  TO  THE   UNREGENERATE   WHEN  RECOVERED 
FROM  SICKNESS  AND  RESTORED  TO  HEALTH. 

Direction  1 .  Seeing  the  a^lictions  of  the  wicked  are  unsancti- 
fied,  it  is  necessary  you  examine  what  sort  of  affliction  yours 
hath  been,  and  what  fruits  it  hath  produced  in  you. 

I  HAVE  in  the  preceding  chapter  showed  that  the  afflic- 
tions of  believers  are  fatherly  chastisements,  proceeding  from 
love  ;  that  they  are  sanctified,  and  yield  the  peaceable  fruits 
of  righteousness  :  I  have  given  the  marks  of  sanctified  afflic- 
tions, and  mentioned  the  happy  fruits  which  they  produce  in 
the  children  of  God. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  necessary  to  let  Christless  per- 
sons know,  that  their  afflictions  are  of  a  different  kind  :  they 
ai-e  even  punishments  from  God  as  a  judge,  proceeding  from 
wrath  ;  they  are  unsanctified  to  them,  and  produce  no  fruits 
but  what  are  bitter  and  unwholesome. 

Well  then,  0  Christless  soul,  hast  thou  reason  to  suspect 
the  worst  concerning  thy  sickness ;  that  it  hath  not  been 
sanctified,  and  its  fruits  are  not  good  ?  0  then  labor  to  know 
the  truth  of  the  matter,  that  thou  mayest  be  humble  under 
a  sense  of  thy  misery,  and  flee  to  Jesus  Christ  for  relief. 
And  for  thy  assistance  in  this  inquiry,  I  will  give  some  marks 

OF  UNSANCTIFIED  AFFLICTIONS,  •^V't  '..I?   : 

1.  If  sickness  hath  not  humbled  thee  under  a  sense  of 
thy  sins,  the  procuring  cause  thereof,  nor  any  wise  weakened 
sin  in  thee,  nor  reclaimed  thee  from  it,  but  it  remaineth  in 
thee  as  strong  as  ever,  it  is  a  sign  thy  affliction  is  unsancti- 
fied. This  was  the  case  of  those  of  whom  God  complaineth 
in  Jer.  2  :  30  :  "  In  vain  have  I  smitteri  your  children  ;  they 
received  no  correction."  As  if  he  had  said.  The  medicine  I 
gave  them  did  not  purge  out  sin,  nor  weaken  corruption  in 
the  least.     They  have  been  stricken,  but  have  not  grieved 


132  AFFLICTED  MAN'S   COMPANION. 

for  sin  ;  the  fire  hath  burnt  round  about  them,  but  they  have 
not  laid  to  heart  the  sin  that  kindled  the  flame. 

2.  It  is  a  mark  of  unsanctified  affliction  when  it  hath 
no  influence  upon  a  sinner  to  bring  him  to  serious  commun- 
ing with  his  own  heart  concerning  the  state  of  his  soul,  and 
to  inquire  in  what  terms  he  stands  with  God  that  afflicts 
him.  God's  voice  by  affliction  is  that  in  Hag.  1:7,"  Con- 
sider your  ways."  In  the  day  of  adversity  consider  where 
you  are,  what  you  are,  what  you  have  done,  and  what  is 
the  meaning  of  the  rod,  and  what  will  be  the  issue  of  it 
through  eternity,  in  case  it  hath  a  commission  to  cut  the 
thread  of  life.  Now  when  a  man  remains  stupid  and  care- 
less about  these  important  matters,  and  never  noticeth  the 
voice  of  affliction,  so  as  to  inquire  seriously  about  his  soul's 
condition  :  "  Am  I  under  a  covenant  of  works,  or  a  covenant 
of  grace  ?  Am  I  a  child  of  God  ?  Have  I  fled  to  the  city 
of  refuge,  or  am  I  still  in  a  shelterless  state  ?  Am  I  still 
under  a  cloud  of  wrath,  or  am  \  brought  under  the  banner 
of  love  ?" — I  say,  where  there  are  no  such  inquiries,  the 
affliction  is  unsanctified. 

3.  It  is  a  certain  sign  of  unsanctified  affliction  when  a 
person  grows  worse  by  it,  and  revolts  the  more  the  longer  he 
is  stricken,  like  those  in  Isa.  1 :  5. 

duESTioN.  When  may  it  be  said  that  a  person  grows 
worse  by  affliction  ? 

Answer  1.  When  the  sinner's  heart  turns  harder  than 
it  was  before :  so  every  plague  on  Egypt  increased  the  plague 
of  hardness  in  Pharaoh's  heart.  It  fares  with  many  hearts 
as  with  iron  that  is  often  heated  in  the  fire  and  quenched  in 
the  water,  it  still  increaseth  in  hardness.  2.  When  a  per- 
son giveth  way  to  impatience  and  murmuring  against  God 
while  he  afflicts  him.  3.  When  the  lusts  of  the  heart  grow 
strong  and  impetuous,  and  afterwards  rage  the  more  for 
having  been  stopped  in  their  course  by  affliction.  In  such 
cases  a  person  grows  worse  by  the  rod. 


THE   UNREaENERATE    RESTORED.  133 

Direction  2.  Consider  the  great  danger  of  not  being  made  bet- 
ter by  sicknesSj  and  of  not  complying  with  the  voice  of  God's 
rod. 

God's  voice  by  his  rod  doth  loudly  call  sinners  to  repent 
and  flee  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  for  refuge  from  w^rath. 
Now,  w^hen  this  voice  is  not  hearkened  to,  but  men  go  on 
in  their  reckless  and  sinful  course  as  before,  God  is  highly- 
provoked,  and  the  issue  will  be  terrible.     For, 

1.  Though  sickness  be  removed,  and  the  furnace  of  afflic- 
tion be  cooled  for  the  time,  yet  the  wrath  that  kindled  it 
continues  still  to  burn.  And  you  have  ground  to  fear  lest 
you  be  ranked  among  those  who  are  the  generation  of  God's 
wrath,  against  whom  he  will  have  indignation  for  ever. 

2.  If  lesser  rods  do  not  awaken  you,  you  may  expect 
greater  and  sorer  judgments  are  coming  on  you.  Yea,  God 
may  cause  them  to  come  rolling  thick  upon  you,  as  waves 
and  billows  in  a  storm,  one  upon  the  neck  of  another.  The 
great  depths,  both  above  and  below,  may  be  opened  together ; 
the  displeasure  of  God,  and  wrath  of  men,  may  conspire  and 
meet  to  pour  themselves  as  water-spouts  upon  you  at  once ; 
and  to  whom  then  will  you  look  for  help  ? 

3.  The  Lord  may  give  over  dealing  with  you,  or  using 
any  further  means  to  reclaim  you ;  he  may  refuse  to  correct 
you  any  more,  or  to  bestow  a  rod  upon  you  for  your  good,  and 
may  say  of  you,  as  of  Ephraim,  "  Ephraim  is  joined  to  idols ; 
let  him  alone."     Hos.  4  :  17. 

4.  The  Lord  may  give  you  up  to  spiritual  plagues  and 
judgments;  and  indeed  this  commonly  is  the  result  of  obsti- 
nacy and  incorrigibleness  under  outward  rods.  When  Israel 
would  not  hearken  to  God's  voice,  he  gave  them  up  to  their 
own  hearts'  lusts.  Psalm  81:11,12.  Now,  these  plagues 
are  the  severest  of  all.  External  judgments  are  God's  rods, 
but  spiritual  judgments  are  his  swords,  which  pierce  the 
very  soul.  Blindness  of  mind,  hardness  of  heart,  searedness 
of  conscience,  vile  affections,  and  a  reprobate  sense,  are  the 


134  AFFLICTED  MAN'S   COMPANION. 

very  forerunners  of  hell  and  damnation.  Those  who  are 
impenitent  and  unfruitful  under  outward  afflictions,  have 
cause  to  tremble  lest  God  be  provoked  to  inflict  these  spirit- 
ual judgments. 

5.  Be  assured,  though  God  spare  you  long,  yet  the  glass 
of  his  forbearance  will  at  length  run  out.  God's  patience 
towards  sinners  hath  a  term  and  bound  which  it  will  not 
pass.  The  time  will  come  when  a  long-suft'ering  God  will 
at  last  say,  "My  Spirit  shall  no  longer  strive;"  and  the 
angel  will  cry,  as  in  Rev.  14  :  7,  "The  hour  of  God's  judg- 
ment is  come."  You  that  abuse  God's  patience  and  pre- 
sume upon  it,  his  treaty  of  peace  will  end  with  you  in  a 
little,  «,nd  the  master  of  the  house  will  rise  up  and  shut  to 
the  door.  Then  patience  will  come  down,  and  justice  will 
ascend  the  stage  and  trample  upon  and  triumph  over  all 
that  abuse  divine  patience.  Sodom  was  a  wonder  of  God's 
patience  for  a  long  time ;  but  now  it  is  a  lasting  monument 
of  his  anger. 

6.  If  you  be  not  made  better  by  God's  rods  or  sparing 
mercies,  then  your  preservation  at  present  will  be  nothing  but 
a  reservation  for  the  day  of  God's  wrath.  And  the  longer 
your  cup  of  sin  is  in  filling,  the  fuller  shall  the  cup  of  God's 
wrath  be  for  you :  by  your  impenitence  and  abuse  of  God's 
patience,  you  treasure  up  wrath  for  yourself  against  the  da^ 
of  wrath,  Rom.  2  :  4 ;  and  though  you  be  delivered  from 
some  judgments,  you  are  reserved  for  worse,  yea,  seven  times 
worse,  according  to  Lev.  26  :  23,  24.  Nay,  there  is  a  fatal 
blow  designed  against  you,  both  soul  and  body,  as  soon  as 
your  cup  is  full;  and  the  axe  is  already  laid  at  the  root  of 
the  tree.  Matt.  3:10.  One  blow  of  God's  axe  will  cut  you 
off  for  ever. 

Remember  this,  0  sinner ;  though  God's  hand  be  lifted 
off  you  at  present,  and  his  messenger  death  be  for  a  little 
recalled,  yet  he  will  quickly  return  and  knock  so  loud  at 
your  door  as  not  to  be  refused.     And  what  will  you  do  in 


THE   UNREG-ENERATE   RESTORED.  135 

the  day  of  visitation  ?  How  ghastly  must  the  pale  horse  be, 
when  hell  follows  him  at  the  heels ;  and  how  hot  and  fiery 
must  that  hell  be,  which  is  inflamed  and  blown  up  by  so 
long  impenitence  and  abuse  of  patience.      *  »A»^r.;- 

Direction  3.  Wonder  at  the  patience  of  God  in  sparing  such 
hell-deserving  sinners  as  you  are,  and  be  thankful  for  it. 

Hath  a  long-suffering  God  preserved  the  thread  of  your 
life,  when  it  was  almost  snapt  asunder  by  the  violence  of 
sickness  ?  Hath  he  freed  you  from  racking  pains,  under 
which  you  were  groaning;  nay,  saved  you  from  the  grave 
and  hell,  into  which  you  were  falling  ?  And  have  you  not 
cause  of  wondering  and  thanksgiving?  To  move  you  to  it, 
consider  these  few  things : 

1.  How  miserable  had  you  been  through  all  eternity,  if 
your  sickness  had  carried  you  off  to  another  world  in  your 
sins.  You  had  been  howling  with  damned  spirits,  under 
endless  and  easeless  torments,  and  for  ever  cut  off  from 
those  hopes  and  offers  of  mercy  you  now  have.  Then  the 
master  of  the  house  would  have  had  the  door  so  barred 
against  you  that  it  could  never  have  been  opened  again  to 
you,  knock  as  you  would.     Luke  13  :  25. 

2.  Consider  how  heavily  you  have  burdened  his  patience 
with  your  heinous  sins,  and  fi:equent  relapses  thereinto ;  and 
that  after  convictions,  calls,  and  various  rods,  sent  to  reclaim 
you  ;  so  that  he  was  put  to  say,  as  in  Amos  2  :  13,  "Behold, 
I  am  pressed  under  you,  as  a  cart  is  pressed  that  is  full  of 
sheaves."'  He  was  overburdened  with  your  sins,  so  that  the 
axle-tree  of  patience  was  ready  to  break  and  let  you  fall  into 
hell,  and  yet,  behold,  he  bears  with  you  still. 

3.  Consider  how  soon  he  could  have  eased  himself  of 
the  load,  and  shaken  you  off  into  the  pit  of  destruction.  In 
a  moment  he  could  have  done  it,  and  yet  he  bears  many 
years  with  your  sins  that  are  so  grievous  to  him.  Yea,  it  is 
with  a  sort  of  reluctance  that  he  eases  himself  of  sinners, 


136  AFFLICTED  MAN'S   COMPANION. 

after  he  gets  the  utmost  provocation.     "  Ah,  I  will  ease  me 
of  mine  adversaries."     Isa.  1  :  24. 

4.  How  ready  he  is  to  turn  avi^ay  his  anger,  and  reprieve 
sinners  from  destruction,  when  in  their  distress  they  make 
even  a  show  of  repentance  and  turning  unto  God,  as  we  see 
in  Psalm  78  :  36,  38.  He,  like  a  tender-hearted  prince, 
calls  back  the  warrant  for  their  execution,  after  it  had  gone 
forth. 

5.  Consider  how  much  many  Christless  sinners  are  in- 
debted to  Jesus  Christ  for  sparing  mercy.  He  is  represented 
by  thd"  vinedresser  interceding  that  the  fruitless  fig-tree  might 
be  spared  and  tried  yet  longer,  after  orders  given  to  cut  it 
down.  Luke  13.  Were  it  not  for  Jesus  Christ,  0  sinner, 
however  much  you  forget  and  slight  him,  you  had  surely 
been  in  hell  long  ere  now.  How  oft  doth  he  obtain  another 
year,  and  after  that  another,  for  the  unfruitful  sinner  and 
unthankful  abuser  of  divine  patience. 

6.  Consider  how  sparing  mercy  hath  distinguished  you 
from  many  others,  who  lived  not  so  long,  nor  sinned  so  much 
as  you  have  done,  God  hath  wounded  the  hairy  scalp  of 
many  and  taken  them  away  in  their  youth,  when  he  hath 
continued  you  to  manhood,  and  perhaps  to  old-age,  though 
your  sins  and  ill-deservings  be  greater  than  those  of  many 
on  whom  he  hath  long  since  taken  vengeance, 

God  hath  left  many  also  tossing  and  groaning  on  beds  of 
pain,  when  he  hath  eased  and  raised  you  up.  0  then  return 
like  the  thankful  leper,  and  magnify  the  God  of  your  health. 
Hath  God  distinguished  you  from  others  by  his  goodness  ?  It 
becomes  you  to  distinguish  yourselves  from  others  by  your 
thankfulness.  .  0  that  men  would  praise  the  Lord  for  his 
goodness — undeserved  and  distinguishing  goodness. 

To  move  you  to  this,  let  me  set  the  example  of  Hezekiah 
before  you.  See  how  thankfully  and  affectionately  he  re- 
membered the  Lord's  mercies  in  recovering  and  delivering 
him  from  the  bitter  affliction  he  had  been  under  :  "I  said,  I 


THE   UNREaENERATE   RESTORED.  137 

am  deprived  of  the  residue  of  my  years  ;  I  shall  behold  man 
no  more  with  the  inhabitants  of  the  world.  Like  a  crane 
or  a  swallow,  so  did  I  chatter ;  I  did  mourn  as  a  dove.  Be- 
hold, for  peace  I  had  great  bitterness ;  but  thou  hast  in  love 
to  my  soul  delivered  it  from  the  pit  of  corruption.  The  liv- 
ing shall  praise  thee,  as  I  do  this  day."  Yea,  he  was  so 
overcome  with  a  sense  of  the  Lord's  patience  and  mercy 
towards  him,  that  he  is  at  a  loss  how  to  express  it.  "What 
shall  I  say  ?  He  hath  both  spoken  unto  me,  and  himself 
hath  done  it."     Isa.  38  :  9-20. 

Let  all  who  are  recovered  from  sickness  study  to  imitate 
that  good  king  in  holy  admiration  and  thankfulness  to  the 
God  of  their  life. 

Direction  4.  Study  to  improve  the  sparing  mercy  and  goodness 
of  God  to  you  in  a  right  and  suitable  manner. 

0  sinner,  hath  God  brought  you  back  from  the  gates  of 
death  and  brink  of  h§ll,  restored  you  to  health,  and  given 
you  a  new  offer  of  mercy  and  salvation  through  Christ  in  a 
preached  gospel,  which  you  formerly  despised?  Strive  now 
to  improve  the  Lord's  patience  and  kind  dealings  towards 
you  with  the  utmost  care,  and  abuse  his  patience  no  longer 
And  in  order  thereto,  take  the  following  counsels  : 

1.  Be  dcQply  hunibled  for  your  former  obstinacy  and 
impenitence,  notwithstanding  God's  gracious  and  patient 
dealing,  0  let  the  sparing  mercy  and  goodness  of  God  tow- 
ards thee  lead  thee  to  repentance,  which  is  the  chief  design 
of  it,  according  to  Rom.  2:4:  "Despisest  thou  the  riches 
of  his  goodness,  forbearance,  and  long-suffering,  not  knowing 
that  the  goodness  of  God  leadeth  thee  to  repentance  ?"  As 
if  he  had  said,  "  Dost  thou  not  see,  0  man,  the  kind  provi- 
dence of  God  in  sparing  and  recovering  thee  from  sickness, 
taking  thee  by  the  hand,  and  pointing  out  to  thee  to  go  to 
thy  closet  to  mourn  and  weep  for  all  thy  past  sins,  and  par- 
ticularly for  thy  misspending  the  time  of  health,  and  abusing 


138  AFFLICTED   MAN'S   COMPANION. 

the  Lord^s  patience?"  The  consideration  of  David's  good- 
ness and  forbearance  towards  Saul  melted  Saul's  heart,  hard 
and  rugged  as  it.  was,  and  made  him  lift  up  his  voice  and 
weep,  and  say  to  David,  "Thou  art  more  righteous  than  I; 
for  thou  hast  rewarded  me  good,  whereas  I  have  rewarded 
thee  evil.  And  thou  hast  showed  this  day  how  that  thou 
hast  dealt  well  with  me  ;  forasmuch  as  when  the  Lord  had 
delivered  me  into  thine  hand,  thou  killedst  me  not.  For 
if  a  man  find  his  enemy,  will  he  let  him  go  well  away?" 
1  Sam.  24  :  17-19.  Oh,  far  more  reason  hast  thou,  0  man, 
to  weep  and  cry,  "God  hath  found  me  his  enemy,  yea,  in 
my  enmity  and  sins,  fighting  against  himself;  he  had  me 
on  a  sick-bed,  and  on  the  very  brink  of  hell,  and  the  least 
touch  of  his  hand  would  have  thrust  me  in  ;  but  yet  he  hath 
spared  his  enemy,  and  let  me  go  well  away.  Oh,  shall  not 
these  cords  of  love  draw  me,  and  this  matchless  goodness 
invite  and  hire  me  to  repent?  Can  any  consideration  in 
the  world  be  more  powerful  than  this  to  melt  my  hard  heart 
into  tears  of  holy  shame  and  sorrow  for  my  stifTneckedness 
and  rebellion  against  a  gracious  and  long-suffering  God? 
Away  with  these  cursed,  God-provoking  sins  of  mine.  Down 
with  these  weapons  of  rebellion.  Let  me  never  lift  them 
more  against  such  a  merciful  sovereign." 

2.  Zealously  improve  the  time  which  God  in  his  long- 
suffering  hath  lengthened  out  to  you,  in  working  out  the 
salvation  of  thy  soul.  Have  you  so  long  been  loading  the 
patience  of  God  with  your  sins ;  have  you  many  a  day  been 
grieving  his  Holy  Spirit,  by  trifhng  away  your  time,  slight- 
ing his  motions,  and  venturing  on  sins  against  light  ?  Oh 
then  beware  of  burdening  his  patience  any  more ;  but  dili- 
gently hearken  to  every  motion  of  God's  Spirit  and  of  your 
own  conscience  for  the  time  to  come.  You  have  much 
work  to  do,  and  but  little  time  to  do  it  in;  therefore  lay 
hold  on  every  opportunity  for  carrying  it  on.  The  consider- 
ation of  the  time  you  have  already  lost  and  misspent  should 


THE  UNREaENERATE   RESTORED.  139 

make  you  the  more  diligent  in  what  remaineth.  How  much 
of  it  have  you  lost  in  youth  ;  how  much  in  ignorance  ;  how 
much  more  in  negligence ;  how  much  in  worldliness  ;  how 
much  in  pastimes ;  how  much  in  idle  words  ;  how  much  in 
actual  sins  and  provocations  against  God.  And  now  it  may 
be  near  the  evening  of  your  day ;  and  will  you  not  spend 
the  evening  which  God  is  mercifully  lengthening  out,  with 
extraordinary  care  and  diligence  ?  If  a  traveller  lose  the 
beginning  of  the  day,  he  must  travel  the  faster  in  the  even- 
ing, otherwdse  he  may  fall  short  of  his  journey,  and  have 
his  lodging  to  seek  for  when  night  comes.  Paul  had  mis- 
spent much  of  the  beginning  of  his  life  ;  and  this  considera- 
tion, when  his  eyes  were  opened,  stirred  him  up  to  be  the 
more  diligent  in  the  service  of  God,  so  that  he  was  more 
zealous  than  any  of  the  rest  of  the  apostles.  0  man,  follow 
his  example,  and  trifle  no  longer  in  the  work  of  God.  Art 
thou  not  convinced  thou  hast  squandered  away  enough  of 
this  precious  treasure  of  time  already?  And  wilt  thou  also 
misspend  and  throw  away  the  little  that  remains  ?  Oh,  be 
not  so  foolish. 

3.  Be  careful  to  raze  all  false  foundations,  and  build  your 
hopes  of  salvation  upon  the  only  sure  rock  Jesus  Christ. 
Let  it  not  discourage  thee  from  digging  to  the  foundation, 
that  so  much  of  thy  day  is  lost  ;  for  it  is  better  to  do  it  late 
than  never.  Remember,  how  miserable  is  the  condition  of 
that  house  which  is  built  upon  the  sand.  Matt.  7  :  27.  For 
when  the  flood  comes,  and  the  storm  arises  and  beats  upon 
it,  great  and  dismal  will  the  fall  of  that  house  be.  Do  not 
build  your  hopes  of  heaven  upon  God's  labsolute  mercy,  upon 
your  convictions,  upon  your  freedom  from  gross  sins,  upon 
your  prayers  or  tears,  upon  your  morality  and  just  dealings 
with  men.  Though  these  be  necessary  and  excellent  in 
themselves,  yet  they  are  false  foundations  to  build  the  hopes 
of  your  justification  and  salvation  upon,  seeing  they  are 
wholly  insufficient  to  bear  such  a  weight.     However  much 


140  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

these  things  have  been  esteemed  and  valued  by  you  formerly 
ia  the  matter  of  justification,  yet,  if  you  resolve  to  be  a  U'ise 
builder  you  will  let  them  all  go,  yea,  count  them  all  but 
loss  and  dung,  that  you  may  win  Christ  our  only  hope, 
build  on  him  alone,  and  be  found  in  him,  not  having  on  your 
own  righteousness,  which  is  but  filthy  rags. 

-  Well,  then,  raze  and  tear  up  every  false  foundation ;  dig 
deep,  till  you  win  to  the  rock  Christ.  Dig  deep  into  the 
holy  law  and  nature  of  God;  dig  till  you  see  the  infinite 
strictness  of  divine  justice,  the  unspeakable  evil  that  is  in 
sin,  the  hidden  vileness  and  abominations  of  the  heart,  your 
own  inability  to-do  any  thing  for  your  help  and  relief  Dig 
yet  further,  till  you  see  the  infinite  fulness  and  freeness  of 
God's  grace  in  Jesus  Christ — that  suitable  remedy  that  an- 
swers all  a  poor  sinner  needs.  Dig  deep,  and  dig  on  till  you 
win  to  this  Rock ;  let  your  cry  to  God  still  be,  Lord,  lead 
me  to  the  rock  Christ,  and  his  all  sufficient  righteousness 
only.  Act  faith  upon  this  rock,  rely  on  it,  build  all  your 
hopes  on  it,  and  say,  "This  is  my  rest  for  ever ;  here  will  I 
dwell,  for  I  have  desired  it.  Lord,  the  desire  of  my  soul  is 
only  to  Christ,  and  to  the  remembrance  of  his  name."-  '■ ',  - 
4.  If  you  would  rightly  improve  the  sparing  mercy  and 
goodness  of  God,  let  it  lead  you  to  repentance  and  reforma- 
tion of  life.  Turn  from  all  these  sins,  whether  of  omission 
or  commission,  now  in  the  day  of  health,  which  conscience 
challenged  you  for  in  the  time  of  sickness.  Mind  Christ's 
caution  and  warning  to  healed  sinners  :  "  Behold,  thou  art 
made  whole ;  sin  no  more,  lest  a  worse  thing  come  unto 
thee."  John  5  :  14.  Oh  let  thy  sin  die  with  thy  sickness, 
and  do  not  relapse  into  thy  former  security  and  sinful  ways. 
Beware  of  returning  with  the  dog  to  thy  vomit,  and  like  the 
sow  that  is  washed,  to  the  wallowing  again  in  the  mire  of 
thy  former  sins  and  uncleannesses,  lest  being  entangled  and 
overcome  again  with  the  filthiness  which  thou  now  hast 
escaped,  thy  latter  end  prove  worse  than  thy  beginning. 


THE   UNREaENERATE   RESTOHED.  Ul 

5.  And  to  sura  up  all  I  shall  say  in  this  chapter,  be 
careful  to  redeem  time,  and  active  in  providing  for  an  eternal 
state.  0  prize  and  value  the  mercy  of  health  and  strength 
more  than  ever.  Sympathize  with  those  who  are  still  lying 
on  sick-beds,  and  under  languishing  distempers ;  neglect  not 
to  pity  and  pray  for  them.  Remember  the  distressed  case 
you  were  in  yourself  when  you  had  no  rest  in  your  bones, 
when  wearisome  nights  were  appointed  to  you,  and  you 
were  full  of  tossings  to  the  dawning  of  the  day.  Consider 
how  slippery  is  your  standing.  Though  the  late  storm  of 
trouble  b*i  over,  yet  the  clouds  will  return  after  rain. 


142  AFFLICTED   MAN'S  COMPANION, 


CHAPTER   VII. 

DIRECTIONS  TO  THE  SICK  WHO  ARE  APPARENTLY  IN  A 
DYING  CONDITION,  AND  DRAWING  NEAR  TO  ANOTHER 
WORLD. 

I  HAVE  already  in  the  first,  third,  and  fourth  chapters, 
given  several  directions  concerning  our  submission  to  the 
will  of  G  od,  making  preparation  for  death,  calling  for  minis- 
ters, edifying  others  by  our  discourses,  settling  our  worldly 
affairs,  etc.,  and  therefore  I  shall  not  repeat  them,  but  pro- 
ceed to  speak  of  other  things.  Only  let  me  add  this  word, 
if  you  have  hitherto  neglected  to  make  your  wills,  settle 
your  worldly  affairs,  send  for  ministers  to  discourse  with  and 
pray  over  you  ;  delay  it  no  longer,  but  do  it  speedily,  while 
you  have  the  use  of  your  reason  and  understanding.  And 
what  I  have  more  to  say,  take  it  in  the  following  direc- 
tions. 

DiRFXTiON  1.  Consider,  when  death  stares  you  in  the  face,  that 
now  is  the  time,  if  ever,  to  exejrt  the  utmost  activity  in  pre- 
paring to  meet  it.  .  I    ,  -- 

Alas,  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  greater  part  of  men 
neglect  their  souls,  misspend  their  lives,  misimprove  their 
health,  and  leave  undone  the  work  for  which  they  were  cre- 
ated, preserved,  and  favored  with  the  gospel.  Surely  a  near 
prospect  of  death  and  judgment  cannot  but  be  distressing  to 
such  persons.  What  a  melancholy  thought  must  it  be  for  a 
dying  man,  "  Oh,  I  had  all  my  time  given  me  to  make  prep- 
aration for  endless  eternity ;  and  alas,  I  never  minded  it 
till  now  that  I  must  leave  this  world.  Is  there  any  hope 
for  such  a  careless  and  miserable  sinner  ?"  I  acknowledge 
the  case  is  sad,  but  yet  it  is  not  remediless  nor  desperate ; 
seeing  there  is  a  sacrifice  provided  for  your  sins,  and  an  all- 
sufficient  Saviour  who  never  cast  out  any  humbled  soul  that 
came  to  him  for  mercy.     You  have  great  reason  indeed  to 


THE   SICK  AND  DYING.  ^         143 

abhor  and  condemn  yourself  before  God  for  your  sin  and 
folly ;  yet  despair  not,  but  believe,  whatever  be  your  sins, 
your  dangers,  your  fears,  and  temptations,  that  Jesus  Christ 
is  both  able  and  willing  to  save  to  the  uttermost  all  that 
come  to  God  by  him ;  and  that  his  grace  aboundeth  more 
than  your  sin  aboundeth.  0  how  glad  would  devils  and 
damned  souls  in  hell  be,  if  they  were  but  in  your  case,  and 
had  your  offers  and  hopes  ;  how  diligently  would  they  im- 
prove the  time  of  mercy.  0  be  persuaded  then  to  spend  the 
little  time  that  now  remains  with  the  utmost  care,  in  making 
penitent  confession  of  sin  to  God  and  applying  to  the  blood 
of  Christ  for  pardon.  Nay,  even  the  best  of  God's  people 
have  need  to  be  diligent  at  this  time,  in  making  actual  prep- 
aration for  dying.  God  is  now  saying  to  you,  as  Joshua 
did  to  the  Israelites,  "  Prepare  your  victuals,  for  within  three 
days  ye  shall  pass  over  this  Jordan,  to  go  in  to  possess  the 
land  which  the  Lord  your  God  giveth  you."  Joshua  1:11. 
Lay  in  provision  for  your  passing  over  this  Jordan  of  death ; 
you  know  not  how  rough  the  passage  may  be. 

I  shall  give  some  motives  to  press  this  diligent  and  active 
preparation  ;  and  therefore  consider, 

1.  The  short  time  of  your  life  that  remains  is  all  the 
time  you  have  for  working  out  your  salvation.  What  you 
do  for  attaining  heaven  and  avoiding  hell  must  be  done  now 
or  never ;  for  there  is  no  work  nor  device  in  the  grave 
whither  thou  goest,  nor  is  there  any  coming  back  to  this 
world  to  amend  what  hath  been  amiss.  Dying  is  a  thing 
you  cannot  get  a  trial  of;  it  is  what  you  can  only  do  once, 
and  no  more.     Heb.  9  :27J.4m'  vi 

2.  Be  diligent  now,  for  as  soon  as  death  gets  a  commis- 
sion to  cut  you  off,  it  will  execute  it ;  it  will  not  spare  you, 
nor  allow  you  one  minute  more  time  to  prepare  for  eternity. 
The  most  merciless  enemies  have  sometimes  been  overcome 
by  the  prayers  and  tears  of  such  as  on  their  knees  did  beg  a 
little  more  time  to  prepare  for  another  world,  and  have  listen- 


144  AFFLICTED  MAN'S   COMPANION. 

ed  to  their  requests  ;  but  this  enemy,  death,  will  not  grant 
one  moment's  respite. 

3.  Consider  that  your  eternal  state  and  condition  will  be 
according  to  the  state  in  which  you  die.  Death  will  open 
the  doors  either  of  heaven  or  hell  to  you,  in  one  of  which 
you  shall  take  up  your  eternal  abode.  As  the  tree  falls  at 
death,  so  will  it  lie  through  eternity. 

4.  Consider  what  a  serious  and  awful  matter  it  is  to  die 
and  go  into  another  world;  for  then  you  will  have  immedi- 
ately to  do  with  God  your  judge ;  there  will  be  no  veil  then 
between  him  and  your  soul.  You  will  then  enter  into  a 
world  of  spirits,  wherewith  you  are  so  little  acquainted,  not 
knowing  but  devils  must  be  your  companions  for  ever. 
Surely  then  it  is  your  interest  to  give  all  diligence  now,  to 
make  your  acquaintance  with  the  Lord  of  that  world,  before 
you  enter  into  it. 

5.  Put  forth  thy  utmost  activity  for  thy  soul  now  ;  for  be 
sure  Satan  will  put  forth  his  utmost  against  it.  If  thou  be 
in  a  Christless  state  at  this  time,  he  will  use  all  his  efforts 
and  stratagems  to  keep  thee  from  Christ,  either  by  flatter- 
ing thee  that  thy  state  is  good,  thereby  to  lull  thee  asleep  in 
sin  and  security,  or  by  telling  thee  it  is  too  late  to  help  mat- 
ters with  thee,  thereby  to  drive  you  into  despair.  The  devil 
will  leave  no  method  unattempted  to  ruin  thy  soul  when 
death  is  near :  for  he  knows  his  time  is  short ;  and  if  he 
catch  not  the  soul  then,  he  will  never  get  it :  and  neither 
can  he  hurt  it  hereafter ;  for  if  once  it  enter  heaven,  he  can 
trouble  it  no  more. 

If  thou  art  a  believer  in  Christ,  Satan  thy  malicious 
enemy  will  not  fail  to  attack  thee  at  this  time  with  all  his 
might ;  for  though  he  may  know  he  cannot  keep  thee  out  of 
heaven,  yet  he  will  labor  to  render  thy  passage  towards  it 
as  dark,  tempestuous,  and  uncomfortable  as  possibly  he  can. 
But  it  k  the  believer's  happiness  that  this  cruel  enemy  is 
under  a  strong  chain,  and  cannot  do  all  he  would  ;  for  Jesus 


THE  SICK  AND  DYING.  145 

Christ  is  the  good  shepherd  that  hath  undertaken  for  all  his 
sheep.  Nevertheless,  by  his  wise  permission,  this  adversary 
may  sometimes  give  great  disturbance  to  a  dying  saint ; 
which  calls  thee  to  the  greatest  diligence  and  watchfulness 
at  this  time.  It  is  the  observation  of  one,  that  as  the  devil 
is  most  busy  at  the  conclusion  of  a  duty,  as  of  prayer,  that 
the  Christian,  may  be  most  disturbed  and  distracted  when  he 
is  to  close  up  all  in  the  name  of  Christ,  and  so  all  his  desires 
be  frustrated ;  so  he  is.  most  busy  in  the  conclusion  of  our 
days  and  when  death  is  at  hand,  seeking  by  temptations, 
distractions,  and  false  imaginations  to  do  us  all  the  mischief 
he  can,  and  all  because  he  knoweth  his  time  is  short.  "  The 
devil  is  come  down,  having  great  wrath,  because  he  know- 
eth that  he  hath  but  a  short  time."  Rev.  12  :  12.  He 
may  fitly  be  called  the  wolf  of  the  evening,  mentioned  in 
Jer.  5  :  6,  because  he  comes  forth  most  fiercely  in  the  even- 
ing of  men's  lives,  to  assault  their  precious  souls.  Yea,  so 
busy  is  he  sometimes  with  believers  under  dangerous  sick- 
ness, seeking  to  overthrow  their  faith  and  assurance,  that  it 
is  the  observation  of  a  good  man,  that  he  seldom  seeth  a  sick 
saint,  followed  close  by  temptations,  recover.of  that  sickness  ; 
for  Satan,  knowing  he  hath  but  little  time,  proves  as  trouble- 
some to  him  as  he  can.  Hence  that  great  man  of  God  Mr. 
Knox,  said,  when  he  came  to  die,  "  In  my  lifetime  the  devil 
tempted  me  to  despair,  casting  my  sins  in  my  teeth ;  but 
now  in  my  sickness  he  tells  me  I  have  been  faithful  in  the 
ministry,  and  so  have  merited  heaven ;  but  blessed  be  God, 
who  brought  these  texts  into  my  mind  :  Not  I,  but  the  grace 
of  God  in  me,  "What  hast  thou,  that  thou  hast  not  receiv- 
ed ?"  The  children  of  Israel  had  never  such  hot  work  from 
their  enemies,  as  when  they  just  came  to  enter  into  the 
promised  land. 

What  need  then  hast  thou,  0  believer,  to  be  diligent  in 
thy  preparations  on  a  dying  bed  to  quicken  grace :  put  forth 
thy  utmost  strength ;  bring  all  the  assistance  thou  canst 

Affl.  Man's  Comp.  / 


146  AFFLICTED  MAN'S   COMPANION. 

from  the  Captain  of  thy  salvation,  when  thou  hast  such  a 
cruel  enemy  to  encounter  with.  Now  is  the  time  for  action, 
though  indeed  it  were  wisdom  to  leave  as  little  to  be  done 
at  this  time  as  possible. 

Direction  2.  Continue  to  the  last  in  the  exercise  of  true  repent- 
ance and  humiliation  for  sin. 

Possidonius,  who  wrote  the  life  of  Augustine,  saith,  that 
he  heard  him  often  say  in  his  health,  that  repentance  was 
the  fittest  disposition  both  for  dying  Christians  and  minis- 
ters ;  and  for  himself,  that  he  died  with  tears  in  his  eyes, 
weeping  for  sin.  When  death  approacheth  nearest,  we 
should  thus  stir  up  ourselves  to  give  sin  the  most  deadly 
blow  of  any  we  have  given  it  all  our  life.  As  it  is  most 
laudable  to  die  forgiving  sinners  that  have  wronged  us,  so 
also  taking  revenge  upon  sin  that  hath  injured  a  gracious 
God.  The  apostle  tells  us,  that  indignation  and  revenge 
attend  true  repentance.  2  Cor.  7:11.  Wherefore,  as  Samuel 
took  vengeance  on  Agag  a  little  before  his  death,  and  Moses 
at  God's  command  avenged  the  children  of  Israel  of  the  Mid- 
ianites  just  before  he  was  gathered  to  his  people.  Numbers 
31  :  2,  and  dying  Samson  gave  a  more  fatal  blow  to  the 
Philistines  than  any  he  had  given  them  before ;  so  a  dying 
Christian  should  at  the  last  take  the  severest  revenge  upon 
sin,  which  hath  so  oft  through  his  life  dishonored  God, 
pierced  Christ,  and  grieved  his  Holy  Spirit.  It  is  the  last 
opportunity  you  will  have  to  show  your  indignation  at  it, 
and  therefore  do  it  effectually. 

Again,  consider  it  is  old  sins  unmourned  for,  that  many 
times  keep  believers  so  much  in  the  dark  when  they  come 
to  die.  These  do  raise  so  many  thick  clouds  about  their 
evening  sun,  and  hinder  them  from  going  off  the  stage  with 
such  comfortable  assurance  of  God's  love  as  they  might  oth- 
erwise attain  to.  These  did  very  much  hinder  Job's  peace 
in  the  day  of  affliction,  as  he  complains,  "Thou  makest  me 
to  possess  the  iniquities  of  my  youth."     Job  13  :  26.     It  is 


THE   SICK  AND  DYING.  147 

a  sad  thing  when  young  sins  and  old  bones  meet  together. 
Oh  that  young  people  would  mind  this  in  time ;  you  are 
doing  that  now  which  will  abide  with  you  to  old-age,  if  not 
to  eternity.  Sin  must  be  bitter  some  time  or  other,  for  God 
calls  it  a  root  that  bears  gall  and  wormwood.  Deut.  29  :  18. 
Israel  could  not  have  peace  nor  success  while  there  was  an 
Achan  in  the  camp  ;  so  neither  can  you  have  consolation  or 
assurance  while  any  sin  lies  unreckoned  for  in  the  conscience. 
Make  a  thorough  search  then  into  old  sins,  and  mourn  over 
them.  We  find  Paul  frequently  calling  over  the  sins  of  his 
hfe,  and  even  those  he.  was  guilty  of  before  conversion  :  "I 
was  injurious,  a  blasphemer,"  etc. ;  whereby  he  maintained 
much  inward  peace  and  consolation.  Be  oft  looking  back 
to  old  sins  with  inward  sorrow  and  faith  in  Christ's  blood, 
if  you  would  have  a  death-bed  easy  and  soft  to  you. 

Direction  3.  Be  mindful  of  all  acts  of  justice  and  charity  which 
may  be  incumbent  upon  you  at  this  time. 

It  is  great  wisdom  in  men  to  settle  their  worldly  affairs 
in  the  time  of  health,  that  so  their  minds  may  be  free  for 
spiritual  exercises,  and  not  disturbed  with  earthly  cares  and 
business  when  they  come  to  a  dying  bed  ;  but  if  this  hath 
been  neglected  hitherto,  it  must  not  be  omitted  now.  I 
have  given  directions  about  it,  Chapter  I.,  Direction  6,  so 
that  I  shall  say  little  here  :  only  be  careful  to  do  justice  to 
every  man,  as  much  as  in  you  lieth ;  and  particularly,  by 
making  a  just  and  rational  provision  for  your  wife  and  chil- 
dren ;  by  ordering  payment  of  all  your  just  debts,  without 
defrauding  any  of  your  lawful  creditors;  and  by  making  res- 
titution in  case  you  have  wronged  any  man.  If  justice  be 
not  done  in  these  matters,  how  can  your  souls  be  disbur- 
dened of  guilt  ? 

In  the  next  place,  forget  not  the  acts  of  charity  which 
God  requires  of  all  the  professors  of  the  gospel. 

1.  Seek  reconciliation  with  your  neighbors,  where  any 


r 


148  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

difierence  or  mistakes  have  taken  place,  that  so  you  may- 
die  in  peace  and  charity  with  all  about  you. 

2.  Be  ready  from  the  heart  to  forgive  those  that  have 
done  you  any  wrong.  If  the  natural  sun  should  not  go 
down  upon  our  wrath,  much  less  should  the  sun  of  our 
lives.  If  you  carry  an  unforgiving  spirit  with  you  into  an- 
other world,  how  can  you  expect  to  meet  with  a  forgiving 
God  there,  when  he  hath  expressly  declared,  "  If  ye  forgive 
not  men  their  trespasses,  neither  will  your  Father  forgive 
your  trespasses?"  Matt.  6  :  15.  Oh,  then,  imitate  your  glo- 
rious Saviour  and  his  martyr  Stephen,  who  at  their  death 
begged  mercy  from  God  for  those  that  mortally  hated  them. 
Luke  23  :  34  ;  Acts  7  :  60. 

3.  If  the  Lord  hath  given  you  substance,  honor  the  Lord 
with  it  by  leaving  some  part  of  it  to  the  poor,  and  to  pious 
uses.  I  have  pressed  this  once  and  again  before,  but  I  men- 
tion it  frequently,  because  it  is  much  forgotten  by  dying  per- 
sons in  our  age.  Remember,  it  is  not  left  arbitrary  to  you 
to  give  or  not,  as  you  please ;  no,  for  God  doth  charge  it 
upon  you  as  a  duty,  yea,  a  debt  that  you  owe  him  :  "  Charge 
them  that  are  rich  in  this  world,  that  they  do  good;  be  rich 
in  good  works,  ready  to  distribute."  1  Tim.  6  :  17,  18. 
And  he  pronounceth  them  blessed  who  consider  the  poor. 
Psalm  41:1.  I  grant  that  people  are  not  to  leave  all  their 
works  of  charity  to  a  death-bed.  These  should  also  be 
minded  in  our  lifetime,  so  as  to  make  our  own  hands  our 
executors,  and  our  own  eyes  the  overseers  of  our  charitable 
projects ;  but  surely  it  is  a  proper  season  for  showing  charity 
to  God's  poor  when  we  are  leaving  them,  and  dannot  have 
opportunity  for  showing  it  more.  Remember  what  is  re- 
corded of  Dorcas  after  her  death,  Acts  9  :  36,  that  she  was 
a  woman  full  of  good  wotks  and  alms-deeds ;  and  her  friends 
showed  the  effects  of  her  charity  to  Peter  after  her  death : 
all  which  was  written  for  our  example  and  admonition,  that 
we  may  be  rich  in  such  good  works,  that  our  friends  may 


THE   SICK  AND  DYING.  149 

have  them  to  show  after  our  death.  Surely  it  is  a  sign  of 
the  degeneracy  of  this  age,  and  that  religion  is  on  the  declin- 
ing hand,  when  people  generally  fall  so  short  of  the  zeal  and 
piety  of  their  fathers  in  this  matter. 

4.  It  would  be  a  commendable  work  of  charity  in  dying 
persons,  to  be  giving  many  good  counsels  to  their  relations 
and  children,  and  to  be  putting  up  many  fervent  prayers  to 
God  for  them.  So  Christ,  when  near  to  death,  committed 
his  spiritual  children  to  his  Father,  and  earnestly  begged  his 
protection  and  care  of  them  :  "I  am  no  more  in  the  world, 
but  these  are  in  the  world  :  keep  them  through  thy  name ; 
keep  them  from  the  evil."  John  17  :  11.  In  like  manner 
cry  to  God  for  your  children :  "  Lord,  thou  hast  graciously 
given  them  to  me  ;  I  now  restore  them  back  to  thee.  They 
were  born  to  me  once  ;  0  that  they  may  be  born  to  thee  a 
second  time.  I  am  leaving  them  in  the  midst  of  snares  and 
temptations ;  0  that  it  may  be  their  happiness  to  be  pre- 
served in  Christ  Jesus.  Keep  them  by  thy  power  through 
faith  unto  salvation.  Oh  take  them  within  the  bond  of  thy 
covenant,  and  be  thou  their  father,  to  protect,  direct,  and 
provide  for  them;  give  them  a  name  in  thy  house  better 
than  of  sons  and  daughters,  that  I  may  meet  with  them  at 
thy  right  hand  with  everlasting  joy." 

5.  Be  suitably  concerned  also  «for  the  whole  church  of 
Christ,  and  especially  for  those  that  are  in  affliction,  that 
God  may  loose  their  bonds,  and  send  them  liberty  and  pros- 
perity in  his  due  time.  "Do  good  in  thy  good  pleasure  unto 
Zion  ;  build  up  the  walls  of  thy  Jerusalem.  Peace  be  within 
her  walls,  and- prosperity  within  her  palaces." 

Direction  4.  Labor  to  overcome  the  love  of  life  and  the  fear 
of  death,  that  you  may  attain  to  willingness  to  die  and  leave 
the  world  when  God  calleth  you  to  it. 

It  is  no  wonder  that  a  wicked  man,  or  one  that  hath  no 
interest  in  Christ,  should  be  unwilling  to  die  :  for,  he  is 
affrighted  with  the  guilt  of  past  sins,  and  the  fears  of  future 


150  AFFLICTED  MAN'S   COMPANION. 

torments ;  and  it  is  impossible  to  be  rid  of  these  till  he  be- 
come a  true  believer  in  Christ.  No  man  hath  ground  to 
welcome  death  but  the  believer ;  yet  it  is  to  be  regretted, 
that  so  many  of  them  should  appear  unwilling  to  leave  this 
world,  which  is  nothing  to  them  but  a  wilderness  and  weary 
land.  Lot's  soul  was  vexed  and  troubled  in  Sodom,  and»yet 
he  was  loath  to  leave  it ;  so  some  believers,  when  called  to 
leave  a  vexing  world,  do  show  much  hankering  towards  it, 
and  linger  behind.  This  proceeds  partly  from  nature,  which 
dreads  a  dissolution,  and  partly  from  the  weakness  of  grace. 
But  0h4et  all  God's  children  labor  to  overcome  this  aver- 
sion, and  go  forth  to  meet  death-  half-way  and  bid  it  wel- 
come. And  for  their  help  in  this  matter,  I  will  lay  before 
them  the  following  arguments. 

~  1.  Consider  how  little  reason  a  believer  hath  to  be  much 
in  love  with  this  present  life.  It  is  a  sinful  life  ;  sin  dwells 
in  your  nature,  breaks  out  in  your  life,  and  pollutes  all  your 
duties.  How  often  have  you  groaned  under  this  burden ; 
and  should  you  not  be  glad  to  be  eternally  delivered  from  it  ? 
It  is  a  life  of  diseases  and  infirmities  ;  and  should  you  not 
be  willing  to  be  cured  of  them  all  at  once  ?  It  is  a  life  of 
temptation :  Satan  is  still  harassing  thee,  and  should  you 
not  be  desirous  to  be  out  of  his  reach  ?  It  is  a  life  of  perse- 
cutions from  the  wicked :  they  hate,  reproach,  and  injure 
you  many  ways ;  and  is  it  not  desirable  to  be  '*  where  the 
wicked  cease  from  troubling,  and  the  weary  be  at  rest  ?"  It 
is  a  life  of  clouds  and  darkness  ;  your  sun  is  often  veiled,  and 
your  evidences  obscured,  which  occasions  many  bitter  com- 
plaints ;  and  should  you  not  desire  that  time  when  the  day 
shall  break  and  all  shadows  fly  away  ?  It  is  a  life  of  calam- 
ities and  fears  ;  it  is  like  a  stormy  sea,  where  one  wave  rolls 
upon  the  back  of  another ;  and  when  one  calamity  is  past, 
we  many  times  fear  a  greater  is  coming  ;  and  sometimes  the 
heavens  turn  so  black  and  gloomy,  that  we  fear  a  hurricane 
of  judgments  is  ready  to  blow ;  and  should  you  not  bless  God, 


THE   SICK  AND  DYING.,  151 

when  he  comes  by  death  to  house  your  souls,  and  set  you  out 
of  harm's  way  ?  It  is  in  mercy  that  God  takes  away  the 
righteous  from  the  evil  to  come.  Isa.  57  :  1.  So  dealt  he 
with  Josiah  :  "I  will  gather  thee  unto  thy,  fathers,  and  thou 
shalt  be  gathered  into  thy  grave  in  peace ;  and  thine  eyes 
shall  not  see  all  the  evil  which  I  will  bring  upon  this  place." 
2  Kings,  22  :  20.  So  is  it  observable  that  Methuselah  died 
the  very  year  of  the  flood,  Augustine  a  little  before  the  sack- 
ing of  Hippo,  Parens  just  before  the  taking  of  Heidelberg, 
Luther  observes  that  all  the  apostles  died  before  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem ;  and  Luther  himself  died  before  the  bloody 
wars  broke  out  in  Germany.  Thus  God  frequently  hides  his 
people  from  the  temptations  and  troubles  that  are  coming  on 
the  earth.  Why  ?  he  sees  many  of  them  not  in  case  to 
endure  them ;  and  therefore  he  in  mercy  takes  them  away 
from  a  tempting  and  sinning  world,  to  a  land  of  holiness  and 
rest.  While  we  are  here,  we  live  in  a  world  that  lies  in 
wickedness ;  every  sense  of  the  body  betrays  the  soul  into 
sin  :  the  poor  soul  can  scarce  look  out  at  the  eye,  and  not  be 
affected ;  nor  hear  by  the  ear,  and  not  be  distracted ;  nor 
smell  at  the  nostrils,  and  not  be  tainted  ;  nor  taste  at  the 
tongue,  and  not  be  allured ;  nor  touch  by  the  hand,  and  not 
be  defiled. 

0  believer,  what  is  this  life  that  thou  art  so  fond  of?  it 
is  but  a  living  death,  or  dying  life.  It  is  full  of  grief  for 
things  past,  full  of  labor  for  things  present,  and  full  of  fears 
for  things  future.  The  first  part  of  our  life  is  spent  in  folly ; 
the  middle  part  is  overwhelmed  with  cares,  and  the  latter 
part  is  burdened  with  infirmities  and  age.  And  what  gain 
we  by  prolonging  this  life  ?  nothing  but  to  suffer  more  evil. 
And  should  a  Christian  be  unwilling  to  be  rid  of  those  griev- 
ances ? 

2.  Consider  that  dying  is  appointed  as  the  way,  and  the 
only  way  to  glory;  there  is  no  way  to  enter  the  promised 
land,  but  by  crossing  the  Jordan  of  death.     And  should  not 


152  AFFLICTED  MAN'S   COMPANION. 

a  stranger  desire  to  be  at  home  with  his  friends,  though  he 
hath  a  rough  way  and  stormy  sea  to  pass  ?  Is  there  any 
home  Hke  heaven,  where  your  incomparable  friend  Christ  is? 
0  what  a  happiness  is  it  to  be  with  Christ,  and  to  see  him 
as  he  is.  How  happy  do  you  think  Peter,  James,  and  John 
were,  in  being  taken  up  to  mount  Tabor,  to  be  eye-witnesses 
of  their  Saviour's  transfiguration ;  but,  0  believer,  death 
procures  a  greater  happiness  to  you  :  it  ushers  you  to  mount 
Zion,  where  you  shall  not  only  sec  your  Saviour  whiter  than 
the  snow,  and  brighter  than  the  sun,  but  yourself  transfig- 
ured with  him,  made  like  him,  and  eternally  secure  of  his 
presence.  The  three  apostles  saw  but  two  prophets ;  but 
you  shall  see  all  the  prophets,  all  the  apostles,  all  the  patri- 
archs, all  the  martyrs,  all  the  holy  persons  you  ever  con- 
versed with  on  earth,  and,  in  fine,  all  the  saints  in  heaven, 
each  of  them  shining  as  the  sun  ;  and  how  sweet  will  their 
company  be  I  0  how  soon  will  the  trifles  of  the  world  van- 
ish, and  all  its  pleasures  be  forgotten,  when  once  the  believer 
gets  a  view  of  that  captivating  glory  above.  When  the 
shepherds  heard  but  some  few  notes  of  the  angels'  song  who 
praised  God  at  the  nativity  of  our  Saviour,  they  presently 
left  their  flocks,  and  ran  to  Bethlehem  to  behold  the  child 
Jesus  lying  in  the  manger ;  how  much  more  cause  hath  a 
believer  to  leave  all  the  pleasures  of  the  world,  and  run  to 
behold  an  exalted  Jesus  sitting  on  the  throne  of  his  glory, 
with  all  his  saints  and  angels  singing  praises  around  him  ? 

If  Cato  and  Cleombrotus,  two  heathens,  after  reading 
Plato's  book  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  did  voluntarily, 
the  one  fall  on  his  sword,  the  other  break  his  neck  from  a 
precipice,  that  they  might  the  sooner  come,  as  they  fancied, 
to  partake  of  those  joys ;  what  a  shame  is  it  for  Christians, 
who  have  a  surer  and  clearer  discovery  of  those  things  from 
God's  own  book,  to  be  found  unwilling  to  enter  into  those 
heavenly  joys,  when  their  Redeemer  calls  for  them  thither  ? 

3.  Consider  how  willing  Christ  was  to  come  from  heaven 


THE   SICK  AND  DYINa.  153 

to  earth  for  you  ;  and  should  you  be  unwilling  to  remove 
from  earth  to  heaven  for  him,  yea,  for  yourselves  ?  for  the 
gain  is  yours.  0  did  Christ  assume  your  nature,  become 
obedient  to  death,  and  purchase  an  inheritance  for  you  with 
his  blood  ;  and  will  you  be  backward  to  go  and  take  posses- 
sion of  it?     0  for  a  Christlike  obedience. 

4.  Consider  what  a  reproach  is  cast  on  Christianity  by 
a  believer's  unwillingness  to  die.  For  Christians  to  pray 
and  speak  much  of  Christ,  of  heaven  and  glory,  and  yet  be 
unwilling  to  enter  into  that  glory,  what  is  it  but  a  mistrust- 
ing of  God,  and  a  tempting  of  strangers  to  think  there  is  no 
reality  in  religion  ? 

And  since  death  is  not  easy  to  grapple  with,  receive  the 
following  COUNSELS  how  to  attain  to  this  blessed  disposition, 
a  willingness  to  die. 

1 .  Be  frequently  putting  forth  the  acts  of  faith  upon  the 
righteousness  of  Christ ;  and  believe  that  Christ  died  to  bring 
in  a  perfect  righteousness  for  believers,  that  they  all  might 
be  complete  in  him.  Now  why  should  a  believer  be  afraid 
to  appear  before  God  in  Christ's  righteousness,  which  is  so 
pleasing  and  acceptable  to  him?  They  are  said  to  be 
"  without  fault  before  the  throne  of  God."  Rev.  14:5.  If  a 
believer  were  to  appear  before  God  in  his  own  righteousness, 
clothed  with  his  own  duties  and  performances,  it  would  be 
dreadful  to  think  of  dying ;  but  to  have  the  white  garment 
of  our  elder  Brother  to  put  on,  gives  another  view  of  death. 
Alas,  it  is  our  neglecting  the  daily  exercise  of  faith  in  the 
righteousness  of  Christ,  that  makes  the  thoughts  of  death  so 
unwelcome. 

2.  "When  you  attain  to  peace  and  reconciUation  with 
God,  labor  to  preserve  it.  State  and  clear  your  accounts 
with  God  every  day;  and  watch  against  those  sins  that 
wound  conscience,  waste  comfort,  and  grieve  the  Spirit  of 
adoption.  When  we  think  God  is  displeased  with  us,  we 
are  afraid  of  going  to  him. 

7* 


154  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

3.  Study  to  be  more  denied  to  the  enjoyments  of  this 
hfe,  and  to  use  them  with  a  holy  indifference ;  otherwise 
there  will  be  an  unwillingness  to  leave  them. 

4.  Labor  to  be  deeply  sensible  of  the  burden  of  indwelling 
sin  and  corruption,  and  the  workings  thereof  in  your  heart ; 
and  this  will  make  the  thoughts  of  death  welcome,  because 
it  eternally  delivers  you  from  it. 

5.  Seek  further  discoveries  of  the  loveliness  of  Christ, 
and  the  daily  exercise  and  increase  of  your  soul's  love  to  him ; 
for  it  is  the  nature  of  love  to  long  after  communion  with  the 
person  that  we  love. 

6.  Make  death  familiar  to  you  by  frequent  forethoughts 
of  it.  Retire  oft  from  the  world  to  think  of  dying,  even  when 
you  are  in  your  best  health. 

•  7.  Be  much  taken  up  in  the  sweet  employment  of  prais- 
ing God,  and  exalting  the  worthy  Lamb  that  was  slain ; 
and  this  will  incline  you  to  be  there  where  this  is  the  con- 
tinued work. 

8.  Be  oft  thinking  of  those  warnings  and  forerunners  of 
death,  which  God  sends  to  wean  your  heart  from  the  love  of 
life,  and  dispose  you  to  a  willingness  to  die.  For  this  end, 
God  sends  manifold  diseases,  pains,  infirmities,  wants,  straits, 
losses,  crosses,  and  disappointments.  And  in  a  special  man- 
ner, let  old  people  view  the  forerunners  and  harbingers  of 
death  which  God  sends  to  prepare  his  way ;  such  as  the  de- 
cays and  infirmities  of  old-age,  which  we  have  elegantly  de- 
scribed in  figurative  expressions,  Eccles.  12:2—7:  "Then 
the  light  of  sun,  moon,  and  stars  shall  be  darkened;"  that 
is,  in  old  persons,  the  intellectual  powers  and  faculties,  which 
are  as  lights  in  the  soul,  shall  be  weakened.  And  then  "the 
clouds  return  after  rain;"  that  is,  their  distempers  are  fre- 
quent, like  a  continual  dropping  in  a  rainy  day,  and  the  end- 
ing of  one  is  but  the  beginning  of  another.  Verse  3.  "  Then 
the  keepers  of  the  house  do  tremble;"  that  is,  the  head  and 
hands  which  were  employed  for  the  preservation  of  the  body 


THE   SICK  AND  DYINa.  155 

do  shake.  "The  strong  men  bow  themselves;"  that  is,  the 
legs  and  thighs,  which  are  the  pillars  of  the  house,  become 
weak  and  feeble.  "The  grinders  cease  because  they  are 
few;"  that  is,  the  teeth,  which,  hke  the  upper  and  nether 
millstone  do  grind  out  meat  and  prepare  it  for  digestion,  then 
cease  to  do  their  part.  ■'  Those  that  look  out  of  the  windows 
are  darkened;"  that  is,  the  eyes  wax  dim,  whereby  God  calls 
us  to  turn  them  away  from  beholding  vanity,  to  look  after 
the  things  that  are  not  seen.  Verse  4.  "  The  daughters  of 
music  are  brought  low ;"  that  is,  they  have  neither  voice  nor 
ears :  they  can  neither  sing  themselves,  nor  take  pleasure  in 
the  voice  of  singing  men  or  women.  Then  death  pulls  us 
as  it  were  by  the  ear,  to  think  of  the  music  above.  Verse  5. 
"  The  almond-tree  flourisheth ;"  that  is,  the  hair  grows  white, 
like  the  almond-tree  in  blossom.  And  as  the  out-parts  of 
the  body  do  weaken  and  decay,  so  also  do  the  inward  parts 
thereof;  therefore  it  is  said,  verse  6,  "The  silver  cord  shall 
be  loosed,  the  golden  bowl  broken,  the  pitcher  broken  at  the 
fountain,  and  the  wheel  broken  at  the  cistern;"  that  is,  the 
silver  cord  of  the  sinews, is  loosed,  which  carries  the  faculty 
of  sense  and  motion  from  the  head,  through  the  body  ;  the 
head,  which  like  a  golden  bowl  or  box,  contains  the  brain, 
that  is,  the  fountain  of  sense  and  motion,  through  age  is 
broken  and  turns  crazy  ;  the  pitchers  and  wheels  of  the 
arteries,  which  carry  the  nourishing  blood  and  vital  spirits 
from  the  well  of  the  heart  unto  each  part  of  the  body,  be- 
come like  broken  vessels.  All  these  things  do  warn  old  per- 
sons to  take  their  afiections  off  from  the  things  of  time  and 
set  them  upon  things  above,  that  they  may  be  helped  to  say, 
We  "desire  to  depart  and  to  be  with  Christ." 

But  after  all,  some  believers  will  have  objections  against 
willingness  to  die  ;   some  of  which  I  shall  consider. 

Objection  1.  I  am  about  to  be  cut  off  in  the  flower  of 
my  age. 

Answer.  Instead  of  fretting  on  this  account,  you  ought 


^* 


156  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

rather  to  adore  and  praise  a  gracious  God,  that  is  willing  to 
bestow  the  reward  of  the  whole  day  upon  thee,  who  hast 
only  labored  some  hours  of  it.  Praise  him  that  is  willing 
to  take  you  so  soon  home ;  whereby  you  will  prevent  much 
sin  and  sorrow  in  the  world. 

Objection  2.  I  have  houses  and  lands,  and  a  comforta- 
ble dwelling  on  the  earth. 

Answer.  These  are  only  needful  in  yqur  passage  through 
the  world ;  above,  there  is  no  use  for  these  comforts.  There 
God  provideth  mansions  for  his  people  a  thousand  times  more 
comfortable.  John  14:2;  2  Cor.  5:1.  Surely  houses  of 
God's  building  and  of  Christ's  furnishing  are  preferable  to 
the  cottages  built  by  men's  hands. 

Objection  3.  But  I  am  loath  to  leave  God's  ordinances, 
and  the  sweet  communion  I  have  had  with  him  therein. 

Answer.  Above,  there  will  be  no  need  of  ordinances,  sa- 
craments, bibles,  or  ministers ;  for  the  lamb  will  be  the  light 
of  the  heavenly  temple,  and  all  hid  things  in  religion  will 
be  discovered  in  Christ's  face.  There  you  will  celebrate  an 
eternal  Sabbath,  drink  the  fruit  of  the  vine  new  with  Christ, 
be  ever  with  the  Lord,  without  any  cloud  or  interruption  of 
your  communion  with  him.  Is  it  any  loss  to  be  taken  from 
the  shallow  streams,  and  set  by  the  fountain  that  is  ever  full 
and  running  over  ? 

Objection  4.  I  am  loath  to  leave  the  company  of  godly 
friends  and  relations. 

Answer.  Death  will  take  you  to  your  friend  Christ, 
which  is  far  better  than  them  all.  And  for  one  friend  you 
lose  on  earth,  you  shall  find  a  hundred  in  heaven ;  and  those 
godly  relations  you  leave  here,  you  shall  meet  again  there, 
where  you  will  have  far  sweeter  communion  than  you  can 
possibly  have  upon  earth  with  them,  or  the  best  of  men, 
who,  while  here,  have  several  infirmities  and  passions,  that 
many  times  make  their  converse  less  pleasant. 

Objection  5.  But  I  would  fain  see  the  glory  of  Zion 


THE   SICK   AND  DYING-.  157 

upon  earth,  when  God's  promises  to  her  shall  be  accom- 
plished. 

Answer.  So  Moses  would  fain  have  seen  Israel's  happi- 
ness in  the  promised  land ;  ^but  his  dying  in  the  firm  belief 
of  God's  fulfilling  all  his  promises  to  them  there,  was  more 
acceptable  to  God  than  his  beholding  the  performance. 
And  the  glory  of  the  church  militant  is  a  sight  nothing 
comparable  to  that  of  the  church  triumphant  above. 

Objection  6.  But  I  would  gladly  stay  to  do  God 
more  service  in  his  church  below,  whose  necessities  are  so 
great. 

Answer.  You  will  not  want  opportunity  for  serving  and 
glorifying  God  above,  where  you  will  be  in  far  better  case 
for  it.  Here,  our  hearts  are  often  out  of  tune  for  God's  work, 
and  we  are  forced  to  hang  our  harps  upon  the  willows ;  but 
above,  there  are  no  willows  to  hang  them  on ;  no  saint  there 
will  ever  complain  of  any  indisposition  of  heart  or  tongue. 

Moreover,  God  knows  the  necessities  of  his  church,  and 
is  more  concerned  for  them  than  thou  canst  be;  and  it  is 
easy  for  him  to  raise  up  instruments  to  carry  on  his  work 
when  thou  art  gone. 

Objection  7.  I  am  afraid  of  the  pain  and  pangs  of 
death.     The  thoughts  of  these  make  me  shrink  back. 

Answer.  Many  die  without  much  seeming  sense  of  pain, 
and  it  is  probable  have  less  pain  at  the  hour  of  death,  than 
they  have  felt  under  previous  diseases.  Or  if  the  pains  be 
sharp,  they  are  soon  over;  and  each  pang  of  death  will  set 
sin  a  step  nearer  the  door,  and  thy  soul  a  step  nearer  home ; 
and  therefore  it  becometh  a  Christian  to  die  cheerfully,  and 
to  be  glad  when  he  can  find  the  grave. 

Now,  what  I  have  said  in  this  chapter  is  to  the  believing 
soul ;  for  it  is  no  wonder  that  the  souls  of  the  ungodly  at 
death  shrink  back  into  the  body  and  tremble  to  go  forth, 
when  they  can  have  no  prospect  of  any  better  lodging  than 
utter  darkness. 


158  AFFLICTED  MAN'S   COMPANION. 

Direction  5.  Study  to  imitate  the  ancient  worthies,  by  dying 
in  faith. 

This  was  the  character  and  epitaph  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment saints:  "These  all  died  in  faith."  Heb.  11  :  13.  As 
they  had  lived  by  faith,  so  they  died  in  faith.  They  not 
only  continued  true  believers  to  the  last,  dying  in  the  state 
of  faith,  but  they  died  in  the  exercise  of  faith  also.  Novi^ 
the  exercise  of  faith  in  dying  includes  several  particulars 
worthy  to  be  imitated  by  all  dying  believers. 

1 .  An  open  and  professed  adherence  to  the  doctrine  of 
faith  and  truths  of  Christianity.  Tliis  faith  all  Christians 
should  zealously  own  in  the  view  of  death,  and  persevere  in 
it  to  the  last  without  wavering.  This  would  be  to  die  like 
martyrs,  though  we  die  in  our  beds.  How  steadfastly  did  old 
Polycarp  adhere  to  Christ  and  his  truths  to  the  last,  and  so 
died  in  faith.  When  he  was  urged  by  the  proconsul  to  deny 
Christ,  he  answered,  "  These  fourscore  and  six  years  have  I 
served  him,  and  he  never  once  offended  me ;  and  how  shall 
I  now  deny  him?" 

2.  Dying  in  faith  imports  an  inward,  hearty,  and  firm 
belief  in  the  fundamental  articles  of  the  Christian  faith,  and. 
improving  them  so  as  to  make  them  the  foundation  of  our 
comfort  and  hope  at  the  hour  of  death.  For  instance,  we 
must  yield  our  departing  souls,  in  the  firm  belief  of  their 
living  and  existing  in  a  separate  condition  after  this  life,  and 
of  that  future  state  of  blessedness  and  rest  which  God  hath 
prepared  for  all  believers.  Again,  we  must  dismiss  this  body 
to  the  grave,  in  a  firm  belief  and  hope  of  a  joyful  resurrec- 
tion at  the  last  day.  Thus  that  holy  man  Job  both  lived 
and  died  in  faith.  "I  know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth,  and 
that  he  shall  stand  at  the  latter  day  upon  the  earth.  And 
though  aftet  my  skin,  worms  destroy  this  body,  yet  in  my 
flesh  I  shall  see  God."  Job  19  :  25,  26.  A  Christian  dies 
in  faith,  when  he  so  believes  these  truths  as  cheerfully  to 
o]3ey  God's  call,  and  venture  into  the  invisible  world  upon 


THE   SICK  AND  DYING.  159 

the  testimony  which  God  has  given  concerning  it ;  as  Abra- 
ham did  in  going  out  to  an  unknown  land.  "  By  faith  Abra- 
ham, when  he  was  called  to  go  out  into  a  place  which  he 
should  after  receive  for  an  inheritance,  obeyed ;  and  he  went 
out  not  knowing  whither  he  went."     Heb.  11^:  8. 

3.  The  believer  dies  in  faith,  when  he  makes  fresh  appli- 
cation to  Christ  as  his  only  hope  and  Saviour,  takes  him  in 
his  arms  of  faith,  as  old  Simeon  did  before  his  death,  saying, 
"In  the  Lord  Christ  1  have  righteousness  and  strength;" 
though  I  have  neither  righteousness  nor  strength  in  myself, 
yet  I  have  both  in  him,  my  blessed  surety  and  Redeemer. 
We  have  many  uses  for  faith  in  Christ  at  the  hour  of  death. 
By  faith  we  must  depend  upon  Christ's  blood  for  making 
atonement,  and  washing  away  the  guilt  of  all  our  past  sins. 
By  faith  we  must  put  on  the  righteousness  of  Christ  for  cov- 
ering our  naked  souls,  when  they  are  to  appear  and  stand 
before  God.  By  faith  we  must  rely  on  Christ  for  strength 
to  suffer  pain,  resist  temptations,  and  conquer  death  and  all 
our  enemies.  By  faith  we  must  look  to  Christ  as  our  leader, 
and  trust  him  for  our  safe  conduct  through  the  dark  valley 
of  death,  and  for  our  safe  landing  on  the  shore  of  glory. 

4.  The  believer  dies  in  faith,  when  he  trusts  his  depart- 
ing soul  with  confidence  in  his  Redeemer's  hand,  saying  with 
Paul,  "  I  know  in  whom  I  have  believed,  and  am  persuaded 
that  he  is  able  to  keep  that  which  I  have  committed  to  him 
against  that  day,"  2  Tim.  1:12.  This  was  the  psalmist's 
practice :  "  Into  thy  hand  I  commit  my  spirit ;'  for  thou  hast 
redeemed  me,  0  Lord  God  of  truth."  Psalm  31  :  5.  So  the 
man  that  dies  in  faith  commits  the  jewel  of  his  soul  to  his 
Uedeemer's  keeping,  and  confides  in  his  care  of  it.  Why  ? 
he  made  it,  he  hath  redeemed  it,  he  loves  it,  it  is  his  own,  a 
member  of  his  body,  and  he  will  not  hate  his  own  flesh. 
He  loves  his  dying  saints  much  better  than  we  love  an  eye, 
a  hand,  or  any  other  member  of  our  body,  which,  most  cer- 
taiiily,  we  will  not  lose,  if  it  be  in  our  power  to  save  it. 


160  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

5.  Dying  in  faith  imports  that  the  dying  saint  confides 
in  God's  faithfulness  and  truth  for  making  good  all  those 
promises  to  his  church  and  people  after  his  death,  which  are 
not  yet  accomplished.  We  should  go  off  the  stage  of  life  in 
the  firm  belief  of  God's  fulfilling  all  his  promises  concerning 
the  prosperity  of  his  church,  the  calling  of  the  Jews,  the  de- 
struction of  antichrist,  and  the  second  coming  of  our  Lord ; 
and  likewise  concerning  our  families,  that  God  will  be  as 
good  as  his  word,  and  be  a  father  to  the  fatherless,  and  a 
husband  to  the  widow. 

Would  you  then  be  so  happy  as  to  die  in  faith,  take  these 

ADVICES : 

1.  Be  careful  to  get  faith  beforehand  ;  for  death  is  a  time 
to  use  faith,  not  to  get  it.  They  were  foolish  virgins  who  had 
their  oil  to  buy  when  the  bridegroom  was  close  at  hand. 

2.  Study  to  live  every  day  in  the  exercise  of  faith ;  and 
be  still  improving  and  making  use  of  Christ  in  all  his  offices, 
and  for  all  those  ends  and  uses  for  which  God  hath  given 
him  to  believers. 

3.  Frequently  clear  up  your  evidences  for  heaven,  and 
beware  of  letting  sin  blot  them  to  you. 

4.  Record  and  lay  up  the  experiences  of  God's  kind 
dealings  with  you,  and  be  often  reflecting  upon  them,  that 
you  may  have  them  ready  at  hand  in  the  hour  of  death. 

5.  Meditate  much  on  those  promises  which  have  been 
sweet  and  comfortable  to  you  in  the  time  of  trial,  and  beg 
that  the  Lord  may  bring  them  to  your  remembrance  when 
you  come  to  die. 

Direction  6.  Place  the  examples  of  other  dying  saints  before 
you,  and  study  in  like  manner  to  shine  in  grace,  and  be  ex- 
emplary in  piety  and  heavenly  discourse,  for  the  glory  of  God 
and  good  of  souls,  when  you  are  going  off  the  stage. 

This  is  the  last  opportunity  you  can  have  of  doing  service 
to  God  and  the  interests  of  religion ;  wherefore  strive  to  im- 
prove it  dihgently  for  the  honor  of  God,  and  to  the  edifica- 


THE   SICK  AND   DYINa.  161 

tion  of  those  that  survive  you.  How  pleasant  is  it  to  see 
God's  people  leaving  the  world  commending  Christ  and  his 
service,  and  perfuming  the  place  they  lie  in  with  their  last 
breath.  I  have,  Chapter  III.,  Direction  5  and  6,  adduced 
several  motives  to  press  this  point,  and  given  directions  con- 
cerning the  discourse  and  behavior  of  the  children  of  God 
when  on  sick-beds,  which  I  shall  not  repeat. 

That  which  I  design  here  is,  to  set  before  you  the  ex- 
amples of  some  eminent  saints,  and  their  pious  and  holy 
sayings  when  they  were  dying  ;  and  this  in  order  to  confirm 
and  establish  others  in  religion,  and  also  to  excite  them  to 
imitate  those  shining  worthies  when  they  also  come  to  die. 
Surely  it  is  for  this  very  end  that  God  hath  ordered  us  to  be 
compassed  about  with  so  great  a  cloud  of  witnesses.  Heb. 
12:1.  Thus  doth  the  apostle  improve  their  example. 
Heb.  11.  And  how  earnest  is  he  in  this  matter:  "And 
we  desire  that  every  one  of  you  do  show  the  same  diligence, 
to  the  full  assurance  of  hope  unto  the  end ;  that  ye  be  not 
slothful,  but  folloM^ers  of  them  who  through  faith  and  patience 
inherit  the  promises."     Heb.  6  :  11,  12. 

I  shall  begin  with  some  examples  from  the  sacred 
HISTORY ;  and, 

1.  With  the  King  of  saints,  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  0 
how  sweet  and  comfortmg  were  his  discourses  unto  his  dis- 
ciples when  his  death  drew  nigh;  and  what  a  heavenly 
prayer  did  he  make  for  them,  and  all  his  elect  ones  at  that 
time !  These  we  have  recorded  in  the  14th,  15th,  16th,  and 
17th  chapters  of  John  :  which  are  most  seasonable  at  all 
times  for  us  to  read  and  meditate  upon,  but  especially  when 
death  is  approaching.  And  likewise  let  us  read  the  history 
of  our  Lord's  crucifixion,  in  which  we  may  observe  the  won- 
derful expressions  of  his  faith  in  God,  his  patience  under  suf- 
ferings, his  pity  to  his  enemies,  his  love  to  his  mother  and 
his  disciples,  his  concern  for  his  Father's  glory,  his  obedience 
in  his  death,  and  his  willingness  to  be  offered  up.     Thus  the 


162  AFFLICTED   MAN'S   COMPANION. 

blessed  Sun  of  righteousness  did  shine  forth  most  gloriously 
at  his  setting,  with  the  radiant  beams  of  heavenly  graces  and 
virtues  ;  and  herein  he  hath  set  a  pattern  to  all  dying  saints 
to  the  end  of  the  world. 

2.  Jacob,  when  he  was  on  his  death-bed,  called  his  sons 
together,  and  gave  them  many  special  charges  and  bless- 
ings ;  we  have  his  excellent  words  recorded  in  Genesis  48 
and  49.  And  in  particular,  how  sweetly  doth  he  speak  of 
the  coming  of  the  Messiah  to  them.  Genesis  49  :  10,  18. 
And  how  affectionately  doth  he  commend  God's  goodness 
and  kind  providence  towards  hinn  through  his  life  :  "  The 
God  which  fed  me  all  my  life  long  unto  this  day,  the  Angel 
which  redeemed  me  from  all  evil,  bless  the  lads."  Gen. 
48  :  15,  16. 

3.  Joseph,  when  he  was  dying,  spoke  lovingly  to  his 
brethren,  who  had  dealt  cruelly  with  him,  and  assured 
them  of  the  Lord's  faithfulness  in  keeping  his  promise  to 
their  fathers :  "I  die,  and  God  will  surely  visit  you,  and  bring 
you  out  of  this  land."     Gen.  50  :  24. 

4.  Moses,  when  he  was  to  go  up  to  mount  Nebo  to  die 
there,  left  many  blessings,  and  gave  many  weighty  charges 
to  the  children  of  Israel;  we  have  his  holy  and  ravishing 
words  recorded  in  Deut.  32  and  33.  And  particularly,  how 
pleasantly  doth  he  commend  God  and  his  ways  to  the  peo- 
ple :  "  He  is  the  Rock,  his  work  is  perfect ;  for  all  his  ways 
are  judgment ;  a  God  of  truth  and  without  iniquity,  just 
and  right  is  he."     Deut.  32  :  4. 

5.  Joshua,  when  he  was  near  his  end,  gave  many  solemn 
charges  and  exhortations  to  the  people,  which  we  have  nar- 
rated in  Joshua  23  and  24.  Tliere  we  may  see  the  remark- 
able methods  he  takes  to  rivet  impressions  and  convictions 
upon  them,  now  when  he  can  instruct  them  no  longer.  And 
particularly,  he  appeals  to  their  consciences  concerning  the 
faithfulness  of  God  in  keeping  his  word  to  them,  that  so  he 
might  engage  them  to  fidelity  to  him.     "  And  behold,  this 


THE   SICK  AND  DYINa.  163 

day  I  am  going  the  way  of  all  the  earth ;  and  ye  know  in  all 
your  hearts  and  in  all  your  souls,  that  not  one  thing  hath 
failed  of  all  the  good  things  which  the  Lord  your  God  spake 
concerning  you."     Josh.  23  :  14. 

6.  David,  when  his  end  was  near,  assembled  the  people, 
and  solemnly  charged  them,  as  in  the  audience  of  God,  to 
keep  his  commandments.  1  Chron.  28  :  8,  9.  And  partic- 
ularly, he  charged  his  son  and  successor,  Solomon,  to  know 
the  God  of  his  father,  and  to  serve  him  with  a  perfect  heart 
and  with  a  wiUing  mind. 

7.  The  apostle  Paul,  when  taking  his  last  farewell  of 
the  elders  of  Ephesus,  most  solemnly  charges  them  to  take 
heed  to  themselves  and  the  flocks  over  which  the  Holy 
Ghost  hath  made  them  overseers.  Acts  20  :  28.  And  how 
sweetly  doth  he  sing  in  the  view  of  approaching  death  :  "  I 
am  now  ready  to  be  offered,  and  the  time  of  my  departure  is 
at  hand.  I  have  fought  a  good  fight,  I  have  finished  my 
course,  I  have  kept  the  faith.  Henceforth  there  is  laid  up 
for  me  a  crown  of  righteousness,  which  the  Lord,  the  right- 
eous Judge,  shall  give  me  at  that  day ;  and  not  to  me  only, 
but  unto  all  them  also  that  love  his  appearing."  2  Tim. 
4  :  6-8. 

In  imitation  of  these  scripture  saints,  the  people  of  God 
in  all  ages  have  studied  to  glorify  God  and  edify  men  at  their 
death,  by  commending  God  and  godliness  to  their  friends 
and  families.  These  we  ought  to  teach  by  our  example, 
both  how  to  live  and  how  to  die,  as  others  have  done  be- 
fore us.  Thus  said  once  a  Hying  saint  to  his  family,  "  I 
have  formerly  taught  you  how  to  live,  and  now  I  teach  you 
how  to  die." 

Now,  because  in  all  ages  the  words  of  dying  Christians 
have  been  much  observed,  and  God  hath  remarkably  blessed 
them  to  the  establishment  and  confirmation,  quickening  and 
exciting  of  others  to  imitate  them,  I  shall  bring  examples 
from  HUMAN  HISTORIES  and  writings,  and  mostly  from  Clark's 


164  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

Lives,  of  sundry  eminent  saints  whose  graces, have  shone 
brightest,  and  their  sayings  been  most  heavenly,  when  the 
sun  of  their  life  was  at  the  setting. 

1 .  That  old  disciple  Polycarp,  when  he  came  to  the  stake 
at  which  he  was  burnt,  desired  to  stand  untied,  saying, 
"  Let  me  alone ;  for  He  that  gave  me  strength  to  come  to  the 
fire,  will  give  me  patience  to  endure  the  flame  without  your 
tying." 

2.  So  holy  Cyprian  triumphed  over  death,  saying,  "  Let 
him  only  fear  death,  who  must  pass  from  this  death  to  the 
second  death,"  When  he  heard  the  sentence  of  death  pro- 
nounced against  him,  he  said,  "  I  thank  God  for  freeing  me 
from  the  prison  of  this  body." 

3.  Basil,  when  the  emperor  Yalens  sent  his  officers  to 
tempt  him  with  great  preferments  to  turn  from  the  faith, 
rejected  them  with  scorn,  saying,  "You  may  offer  these 
things  to  children."  And  when  they  threatened  him  with 
sufferings,  he  said,  "Threaten  your  purple  gallants  with 
these  things,  that  give  themselves  to  their  pleasures." 

When  Modestus  the  prefect  threatened  Basil  to  confiscate 
his  goods,  to  torment  him,  to  banish  him,  or  kill  him,  he 
answered,  "  He  need  not  fear  confiscation,  that  hath  nothing 
to  lose  ;  nor  banishment,  to  whom  heaven  only  is  a  country ; 
nor  torments,  when  his  body  would  be  dashed  with  one  blow ; 
nor  death,  which  is  the  only  way  to  set  him  at  liberty." 
The  prefect  telling  him  he  was  mad,  he  said,  "I  wish  I  may 
for  ever  be  thus  mad." 

4.  Ignatius  being  led  from  Syria  to  Rome  to  be  torn  in 
pieces  of  wild  beasts,  expressed  his  fear  lest  it  should  hap- 
pen to  him  as  to  some  others,  that  the  lions  out  of  a  kind  of 
reverence,  would  not  dare  to  touch  him.  And  therefore  he 
often  wished  that  "  their  appetites  might  be  whetted  to  dis- 
patch him.  For,"  said  he,  "  the  lions'  teeth  are  but  like  a 
mill,  which  though  it  bruiseth,  yet  wasteth  not  the  good 
wheat,  only  prepares  and  fits  it  to  be  made  pure  bread.    Let 


THE   SICK  AND  DYINa.  165 

rae  be  broken  by  them,  so  I  may  be  ma4e  pure  mancbet 
for  heaven." 

5.  The  great  Mr.  Knox,  our  reformer,  when  he  lay  dying 
was  much  in  prayer,  ever  crying,  "  Come,  Lord  Jesus ;  sweet 
Jesus,  into  thy  hands  I  commend  my  spirit."  Being  asked 
by  those  that  attended  him  if  his  pain  was  great,  he  answer- 
ed that  "  he  did  not  esteem  ihat  a  pain  which  would  be  to 
him  the  end  of  all  trouble  and  the  beginning  of  eternal 
joys."  Ofttimes,  after  some  deep  meditations,  he  said,  "0 
serve  the  Lord  in  fear,  and  death  shall  not  be  terrible  to 
you  ;  blessed  is  the  death  of  those  that  have  part  in  the  death 
of  Jesus." 

After  a  sore  temptation  from  Satan  formerly  mentioned, 
over  which  he  triumphed  at  length,  he  said,  "Now  the 
enemy  is  gone  away  ashamed,  and  shall  no  more  return. 
I  am  sure  now  my  battle  is  at  an  end,  and  that  without 
pain  of  body  or  trouble  of  spirit,  I  shall  shortly  change 
this  mortal  and  miserable  life  for  that  happy,  immortal  life 
which  shall  never  have  an  end."  After  one  had  prayed  for 
him,  he  was  asked  whether  he  heard  the  prayer ;  he  an- 
swered, "  Would  to  God  you  had  heard  it  with  such  an  ear 
and  heart  as  I  have  done ;"  adding,  "  Lord  Jesus,  receive 
my  spirit,"  With  which  words,  without  any  motion  of 
hands  or  feet,  as  one  falling  asleep  rather  than  dying,  he 
ended  his  life. 

6.  Dr.  Gouge,  when  he  was  old  and  dying,  was  sore 
afflicted  with  the  stone  and  other  painful  maladies ;  yet, 
though  by  reason  of  his  pains  he  was  oft  heard  to  groan,  he 
never  once  murmured  against  the  dispensations  of  God.  He 
never  cried  out,  a  great  sufferer,  but  oft,  a  great  sinner ; 
yet  still  comforted  himself  that  there  is  a  great  Saviour. 
In  his  greatest  torments  he  would  say,  "Well,  yet  in  ail 
these  there  is  nothing  of  hell,  or  of  God's  wrath.  Oh,  my 
soul,  be  silent,  be  patient :  it  is  thy  God  and  Father  that 
thus  orders  thine  estate.     Thou  art  his  clay,  he  may  tread 


166  AFFLICTED  MAN'S   COMPANION. 

and  trample  upon  thee  as  he  pleaseth ;  thou  hast  deserved 
much  more.  It  is  enough  that  thou  art  kept  out  of  hell : 
though  thy  pains  be  grievous,  yet  they  are  not  intolerable, 
thy  God  affords  some  intermissions ;  he  will  turn  it  to  thy 
good,  and  at  length  put  an  end  to  all ;  and  none  of  these 
comforts  can  be  expected  in  hell."  In  his  greatest  pains  he 
often  used  holy  Job's  words,  "  Shall  we  receive  good  from 
the  hands  of  the  Lord,  and  not  evil  also  ?"  When  any  of 
his  friends  would  have  comforted  him  by  telling  him  of  his 
eminent  gifts  and  service  in  the  ministry,  he  would  answer, 
"  I  dare  not  think  of  any  such  thing  for  comfort ;  only  Jesus 
Christ,  and  what  he  hath  done  and  endured,  is  the  ground 
of  my  sure  comfort."  The  thoughts  of  death  were  pleasant 
to  him,  and  he  often  termed  death  his  best  friend,  next  to 
Jesus  Christ ;  and  he  would  bless  God  that  he  had  nothing 
to  do  but  to  die. 

7.  I  have  read  of  another  minister  peaceful  under  the 
like  extreme  pains.  When  he  was  asked  how  he  did,  his 
frequent  answer  was,  "  The  bush  always  burning,  but  not 
consumed ;  though  my  pains  are  above  the  strength  of  na- 
ture, yet  they  are  not  above  the  supports  of  grace."  He 
would  pray,  "Lord,  drop  comfort  into  these  bitter  waters  of 
Marah.  Let  the  blood  of  sprinkling,  which  extinguisheth 
the  fire  of  thine  anger,  allay  my  burning  pain.  Oh,  if  my 
patience  were  greater,  my  pains  would  be  less.  Lord,  give 
me  patience,  and  inflict  what  thou  wilt.  This  is  a  fiery 
chariot,  but  it  will  carry  me  to  heaven.  0  my  God,  break 
open  the  prison  door,  and  set  my  poor  captive  soul  free  ;  I 
desire  to  be  dissolved,  but  enable  me  willingly  to  wait  thy 
time."  He  would  again  cry,  "When  shall  the  time  come, 
that  I  shall  neither  sin  more,  nor  sorrow  more  ?  Lord,  keep 
me  from  dishonoring  thy  name  by  impatience.  Oh,  who 
would  not,  even  in  burnings,  have  honorable  thoughts  of 
God?  Lord,  thou  givest  me  no  occasion  to  have  hard 
thoughts  of  thee.     Blessed  be  God,  for  the  peace  of  mine 


THE   SICK  AND  DYINa.  167 

inward  man,  when  my  outward  man  is  so  full  of  trouble. 
This  is  a  bitter  cup,  but  it  is  of  my  Father's  mixing ;  and 
shall  I  not  then  drink  it  ?" 

8.  Mrs.  Jean  Askew,  who  was  a  martyr  in  king  Henry's 
reign,  thus  subscribed  to  her  confession  in  Newgate :  "  "Writ- 
ten by  me  Jean  Askew,  that  neither  wisheth  death,  nor 
feareth  its  might,  and  as  merry  as  one  bound  towards 
heaven."  When  the  chancellor  sent  her  letters  at  the  stake, 
offering  her  the  king's  pardon  if  she  would  recant,  she  re- 
fused to  look  upon  them,  giving  this  answer  :  that  "  she 
came  not  hither  to  deny  her  Lord  and  Master." 

9.  Mr.  James  Bainham,  when  he  was  at  the  stake  in 
the  midst  of  the  burning  fire,  which  had  consumed  his  legs 
and  arms,  spoke  these  words:  "0,  ye  papists,  behold,  ye 
look  for  miracles,  and  here  now  ye  may  see  a  miracle ;  for 
in  this  fire  I  feel  no  more  pain  than  if  I  were  on  a  bed  of 
down  ;  it  is  to  me  as  a  bed  of  roses," 

10.  John  Lambert,  as  he  was  burning  in  Smithfield,  and 
his  legs  were  quite  consumed  with  the  fire,  lifted  up  his 
hands,  his  fingers  flaming  like  torches,  but  his  heart  abound- 
ing with  comfort,  and  cried  out,  "None  but  Christ,  none 
but  Christ." 

11.  Mr.  Robert  Glover,  a  little  before  his  death,  had  lost 
the  sense  of  God's  favor,  for  which  he  was  in  great  heavi- 
ness and  sorrow ;  but  when  he  came  within  sight  of  the 
stake  at  which  he  was  to  suffer,  he  was  on  a  sudden  so  filled 
with  divine  comfort,  that  clapping  his  hands  together,  he 
cried  out  to  his  servant,  "He  is  come,  he  is  come ;"  and  so 
died  most  cheerfully. 

12.  It  was  a  saying  of  Augustine,  "Boughs  fall  off  trees, 
and  stones  out  of  buildings  ;  and  why  should  it  seem  strange 
that  mortal  men  die  ?" 

13.  Mr.  John  Dodd  had  so  violent  a  fever,  that  there 
was  but  little  hope  of  his  life ;  yet  at  length  his  physician 
coming  to  him,  said,  "  Now  I  have  hope  of  your  recovery." 


168  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

To  whom  Mr.  Dodd  answered,  "You  think  to  comfort  me 
with  this,  but  you  make  my  heart  sad.  It  is  as  if  you  should 
tell  one  who  had  been  sore  weather-beaten  at  sea,  but 
thought  he  had  now  arrived  at  the  haven  where  his  soul 
longed  to  be,  that  he  must  go  back  again  to  be  tossed  with 
new  winds  and  waves." 

He  would  often  say  in  his  last  sickness,  "I  am  not  afraid 
to  look  death  in  the  face.  I  can  say.  Deaths  where  is  thy 
sting?     Death  cannot  hurt  me." 

He  used  to  say,  "The  knowledge  of  two  things  would 
make  one  willing  to  die ;  namely,  What  heaven  is,  and  that 
it  is  mine."  "  Yes,"  said  one,  "  if  a  man  were  sure  of  that." 
To  whom  he  answered,  "  Truly,  assurance  is  to  be  had;  and 
what  have  we  been  doing  all  this  while  ?" 

Some  others  of  the  sayings  of  this  holy  man  were  so 
pithy  and  remarkable,  I  cannot  pass  them  here. 

Mr.  Dodd  once  visited  a  godly  minister  on  his  death-bed 
who  was  much  oppressed  with  melancholy,  and  complained 
to  him,  "  Oh,  Mr.  Dodd,  what  will  you  say  of  him  who  is 
going  out  of  the  world,  and  can  find  no  comfort  ?"  To  whom 
Mr.  Dodd  answered,  "  What  will  you  say  of  our  Saviour 
Christ,  who  when  he  was  going  out  of  the  world,  found  no 
comfort,  but  cried  ^ut,  My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou 
forsaken  me  ?"  He  said  of  afflictions,  "They  are  God's  po- 
tions, which  we  may  sweeten  by  faith  and  faithful  prayer ; 
but  we,  for  the  most  part,  make  them  bitter,  putting  into 
God's  cup  the  evil  ingredients  of  our  impatience  and  unbe- 
lief." He  called  death,  "  the  friend  of  grace,  though  it  be 
the  enemy  of  nature ;  for  whereas  the  word,  sacraments, 
and  prayer  do  but  awaken  sin,  death  kills  it."  He  used  to 
say,  "  A  man  is  never  in  a  hard  condition  unless  he  have  a 
hard  heart  and  cannot  pray."  He  instructed  Christians  how 
they  should  never  have. a  great  nor  lasting  affliction,  and 
that  was  by  looking  unto  the  things  that  are  not  seen,  which 
are  eternal.     2  Cor.  4:17,  18,     For  what  can  be  great  to 


THE   SICK  AND  DYINa.  169 

him  that  counts  the  world  nothing ;  and  what  can  be  long 
to  him  that  counts  his  life  hut  a  span  long  ?  When  he  saw 
a  Christian  look  sad,  he  would  say  as  Jonadah  did  to  Am- 
mon,  "Art  thou  a  king's  son,  and  lookest  so  ill?"  And 
when  such  complained  to  him  of  their  losses  and  crosses,  he 
would  use  the  words  of  Eliphaz  to  Job :  "  '  Do  the  consola- 
tions of  God  seem  small  unto  you  ?'  God  hath  taken  from 
you  your  children  or  your  goods,  but  he  hath  not  taken  from 
you  himself,  his  Christ,  nor  his  Spirit,  nor  heaven,  nor  eter- 
nal life." 

To  a  friend  of  his  that  rose  from  a  mean  to  a  great  estate, 
he  sent  word,  that  "this  was  but  as  if  he  should  go  out  of 
a  boat  into  a  barge  or  ship  ;  but  he  ought  seriously  to  re- 
member, that  while  he  was  in  this  world,  he  was  but  float- 
ing upon  a  sea." 

He  often  said,  that  if  it  were  lawful  to  envy  any,  he 
would  envy  those  that  turn  to  God  in  their  youth ;  whereby 
they  escape  much  sin  and  sorrow,  and  are  like  Jacob  that 
stole  the  blessing  betimes.  He  used  to  compare  reproofs 
given  in  a  passion  to  scalding  potions,  which  the  patient 
could  not  take  down  ;  in  reproofs,  we  should  labor  for  meek- 
ness of  wisdom,  using  soft  words  and  hard  arguments. 

He  was  a  most  popular  minister,  but  much  persecuted. 
Once  he  took  a  journey  to  see  his  father-in-law  Mr.  Green- 
ham,  and  to  bemoan  himself  to  him  on  account  of  his  crosses 
and  hard  usage.  Mr.  Greenham  having  heard  all  he  could 
say,  answered  him  thus :  "  Son,  son,  when  affliction  lieth 
heavy,  sin  lieth  light."  Mr.  Dodd  used  oft  to  bless  God  for 
thi&  speech,  saying,  "  If  Mr.  Greenham  had  bemoaned  him 
as  he  expected,  he  had  done  him  much  hurt."  He  forgot 
not  this  saying  in  his  old  age,  but  made  excellent  use  of  it 
for  himself  and  others. 

14.  CEcolampadius,  that  famous  divine  of  Switzerland, 
when  lying  on  his  death-bed,  and  being  asked  whether  the 
light  did  not  offend  hilpa,  answered,  pointing  to  his  breast, 

Affl.  Jtf(^n'«Cop^p.  8 


170  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

Hie  sat  lucis,  "Here  is  abundance  of  light;"  meaning  of 
comfort  and  joy.  He  asked  one  of  his  friends,  "What  news  ?" 
His  friend  answered,  "  None."  "  Then,"  saith  he,  "  I  will  tell 
you  some  news ;  I  shall  presently  be  with  my  Lord  Christ." 

■  15.  A  certain  godly  man  passing  through  his  last  sick- 
ness with  extraordinary  calmness  of  conscience,  being  asked 
by  some  of  his  friends  about  it,  answered,  that  "  he  had 
steadfastly  fixed  his  heart  upon  that  sweet  promise,  'Thou 
wilt  keep  him  in  perfect  peace  whose  mind  is  stayed  on  thee ; 
because  he  trusteth  in  thee.' "  Isa.  26  :  3.  "  And  my  God," 
said  he,  "hath  graciously  made  it  fully  good  unto  my  soul." 
16.  Mr.  Robert  Bolton,  minister  at  Broughton,  w^ell 
known  by  his  writings,  in  the  time  of  his  last  sickness, 
which  was  long  and  sharp,  often  breathed  out  these  words : 
"  Oh,  when  will  this  good  hour  come;  when  shall  I  be  dis- 
solved; when  shall  I  be  with  Christ?"  Being  told,  that  to 
be  dissolved  was  indeed  better  lor  him,  yet  it  would  be  bet- 
ter for  the  church  that  he  would  stay  here ;  he  answered, 
"  If  I  shall  find  favor  in  the  eyes  of  the  Lord,  he  will  bring 
me  again,  and  show  me  both  it  and  his  habitation ;  but  if 
otherwise,  lo,  here  I  am,  let  him  do  what  seemeth  him  good." 
Being  asked  by  another,  if  he  could  not  be  content  to  live, 
if  it  pleased  God,  he  answered,  "  I  grant  that  life  is  a  great 
blessing  of  God,  neither  will  I  neglect  any  means  that  may 
preserve  it ;  and  do  heartily  submit  to  God's  will :  but  of  the 
two,  I  infinitely  desire  more  to  be  dissolved  and  to  be  with 
Christ."  He  bade  all  that  came  to  see  him  make  sure  of 
Christ  before  they  came  to  die ;  and  look  upon  the  world 
now  as  a  lump  of  vanity.  He  encouraged  the  ministers  that 
came  to  him  to  be  diligent  and  courageous  in  the  work  of 
the  Lord,  and  not  to  faint  nor  droop  for  any  affliction  that 
should  meet  them  in  it. 

When  he  found  himself  very  weak,  he  called  for  his  wife 
and  children.  He  desired  her  to  bear  his  dissolution,  which 
was  near  at  hand,  with  a  Christian  fortitude;  a  thing  he 


THE   SICK  AND   DYING-.  171 

had  been  preparing  her  for  by  the  space  of  twenty  years; 
and  bade  her  make  no  doubt  but  she  should  meet  him  again 
in  heaven.  He  exhorted  his  children  to  remember  those 
things  he  had  frequently  told  them  before ;  adding,  that 
"he  hoped  and  believed  that  none  of  them  durst  think  of 
meeting  him  at  that  dread  tribunal  in  an  unregenerate 
state." 

Some  of  his  parishioners  coming  to  watch  with  him,  it 
was  requested,  that  as  by  his  instructions  he  had  taught 
them  the  exceeding  comforts  that  were  in  Christ,  so  he 
would  now  tell  them  what  he  felt  in  his  own  soul.  "Alas," 
said  he,  "do  you  look  for  that  of  me  now,  that  want  breath 
and  strength  to  speak  ?  I  have  told  you  enough  in  my  min- 
istry:  but  yet,  to  satisfy  you,  I  am  by  the  wonderful  mercies 
of  God,  as  full  of  comfort  as  my  heart  can  hold ;  and  I  feel 
nothing  in  my  soul  but  Christ,  with  whom  I  heartily  desire 
to  be."  And  observing  some  weeping,  he  looked  to  them 
and  said,  "Oh,  what  an  ado  there  is  before  one  can  die." 

When  the  pangs  of  death  were  upon  him,  being  told 
that  some  of  his  dear  friends  were  about  him  to  take  their 
last  farewell,  he  caused  himself  to  be  raised  up  in  his  bed, 
and  after  a  few  gaspings  for  breath,  he  said,  "I  am  now 
drawing  on  apace  to  my  dissolution :  hold  out,  faith  and  pa- 
tience; your  work  will  speedily  be  at  an  end."  And  then 
shaking  them  all  by  the  hand,  he  prayed  heartily  and  par- 
ticularly for  them,  and  desired  them  to  make  sure  of  heaven, 
and  to  bear  in  mind  what  he  had  formerly  told  them  in 
his  ministry,  protesting  to  them  that  the  doctrine  he  had 
preached  to  them  for  the  space  of  twenty  years  was  the 
truth  of  God,  as  he  should  answer  it  at  the  tribunal  of 
Christ,  before  whom  he  should  shortly  appear. 

When  he  was  struggling  with  death,  a  very  dear  friend 
taking  him  by  the  hand,  asked  him  if  he  felt  not  much  pain. 
"  Truly,  no,"  said  he,  "the  greatest  I  feel  is  your  cold  hand." 

17.  Mr.  John  Holland,  a  godly  minister,  continued  his 


172  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

usual  practice  of  expounding  the  Scriptures  in  his  family  to 
the  last ;  and  the  day  before  his  death  he  called  for  a  Bible, 
and  causing  some  one  to  read  the  eighth  chapter  of  Romans, 
he  discoursed  upon  it  verse  by  verse ;  but  on  a  sudden  he 
said,  "  0  stay  your  reading ;  what  brightness  is  this  I  see ; 
have  you  lighted  up  any  candles?"  A  bystander  said,  "No, 
it  is  the  sunshine;"  for  it  was  about  five  o'clock  in  a  clear 
summer's  evening.  "Sunshine,"  said  he,  "nay,  it  is  my 
Saviour's  sunshine.  Now,  farewell  world ;  welcome  heaven ; 
the  day-star  from  on  high  hath  visited  my  heart :  0  speak 
it  when  1  am  gone,  and  preach  it  at  my  funeral ;  God  deal- 
eth  familiarly  with  man :  I  feel  his  mercy,  I  see  his  majesty, 
whether  in  the  body  or  out  of  the  body  I  cannot  tell,  God 
knoweth ;  but  I  see  things  that  are  unutterable."  And  in 
this  rapture  he  continued  till  he  died. 

-  18.  I  knew,  not  long  ago,  an  eminently  godly  man, 
G — —  M ,  that  fell  into  extraordinary  raptures  some- 
time before  his  death,  such  as  his  bodily  strength  and  spirit 
were  not  able  to  support,  though  he  had  no  sickness.  Some- 
times he  was  so  swallowed  up  and  overcome  by  the  mani- 
festations of  God's  love  to  his  soul,  that  his  words  could  not 
be  well  understood ;  his  natural  color,  heat,  and  strength, 
would  so  go  off,  that  all  about  him  would  conclude  him  to 
be  dying ;  but  when  he  was  able  to  get  words  uttered,  they 
were  so  heavenly  and  ravishing  concerning  the  love  of  Christ 
and  freeness  of  grace,  that  bystanders  could  not  hear  him 
without  weeping.  Sometimes  ministers,  when  they  came  to 
visit  him,  and  found  him  in  these  raptures,  were  forced  to 
turn  all  their  prayers  in  his  behalf  into  praises ;  except  that 
they  would  put  up  some  petitions  to  God,  that  "  He  might 
graciously  spare  and  be  tender  of  his  weak  body,  and  enable 
him  to  bear  that  load  of  loving-kindness  God  was  pleased 
to  let  out  to  him,  and  which  his  present  bodily  sti;ength  was 
not  sufficient  for."  Yea,  they  would  be  put  to  cry,  "Lord, 
if  it  be  thy- will,  hold  thy  hand,  for  he  is  but  a  clay  vessel; 


THE   SICK  AND  DYING-.  173 

this  new  wine  will  burst  the  old  bottle ;  preserve  him  in  life 
as  a  monument  of  the  rich  grace  of  God,  for  the  conviction 
of  atheists  and  carnal  people,  and  for  the  confirmation  of  the 
faith  of  the  children  of  God."  Sometimes  he  would  cry  in 
abrupt  expressions,  "  0,  angels,  help  me  to  praise  him ;  0, 
saints,  admire  his  love,  and  wonder  at  him."  Again,  "0 
flames  of  love ;  my  soul  seeth  Christ ;  the  heavens  open ;  I 
see  a  throne,  and  the  Lamb  in  the  midst  of  the  throne.  0 
what  think  ye  of  Christ  ?  my  soul  breathes,  breathes  towards 
him ;  my  spirit  is  exhaled  out  of  me  by  the  manifestations 
of  God."  He  used  frequently  to  say  with  a  heavenly  air  to 
his  friends,  "  0  what  think  ye  of  Christ?"  When  his  ecstasy 
did  somewhat  abate,  so  that  he  attained  a  pleasant  calmness 
of  thought  and  freedom  of  speech,  he  would  discourse  of  the 
mysteries  of  religion,  the  electing  love  of  God,  the  freedom 
of  grace,  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ,  and  the  glorious 
contrivance  of  redemption  through  his  death  and  sacrifice. 
I  say,  he  would  talk  of  these  things  more  like  an  angel  than 
a  man  ;  for  such  was  his  heavenly  eloquence,  fluency  of 
words,  and  facility  of  speaking  upon  these  subjects,  which 
otherwise  was  not  natural  to  him,  that  those  who  came  to 
see  him  were  exceedingly  surprised  and  astonished  to  hear 
him.  His  body  gradually  weakened  under  these  raptures  of 
spirit,  and  he  longed  much  to  leave  the  world,  because  he 
thought  he  could  be  so  little  useful  in  it  for  advancing  God's 
honor.  He  reckoned  himself  bound  to  improve  the  short 
time  he  was  like  to  have  here,  in  commending  Christ  and 
religion  to  all  he  had  access  to,  and  also  to  admonish  them 
of  any  thing  he  knew  amiss  in  them,  which  he  did  most 
convincingly.  And  having  occasion  to  see  some  who  dispar- 
aged the  established  church,  and  the  ordinances  dispensed  in 
it,  he  highly  commended  the  ordinances,  and  told  them  that 
from  his  own  sweet  experience  he  could  say,  that  God  was 
to  be  found  in  them.  He  seemed  to  have  sin  wonderfully 
mortified;  for  he  complained  of  no  other  heart-plague  but 


174  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

self,  and  it  was  his  great  exercise  to  get  self  wholly  sub- 
dued ;  he  pursued  it  through  many  of  its  windings  and  lurk- 
ing places,  and  after  all  he  would  regret  his  little  success 
against  it.  "  For,"  said  he,  "  when  I  am  in  my  most  ele- 
vated frames,  and  admitted  to  the  nearest  access  to  my 
Hedeemer,  the  subtle  enemy  self  will  enter  in  with  me,  and 
offer  to  pull  the  crown  off  his  head  before  my  face." 

Once,  after  hearing  a  sermon  on  Psalm  85  : 8,  "  I  will 
hear  what  God  the  Lord  will  speak,"  he  broke  out  in  a  rap- 
turous discourse  to  one  that  came  to  see  him,  blessing  God 
that  he  had  spoken  to  him  in  that  sermon.  "  And  0,"  said 
he,  "  what  am  I,  that  the  Rock  of  Israel  should  have  spoken 
to  me  these  three  sermon-days  bygone,  assuring  me  that  all 
ray  sins  are  forgiven?  What  am  I,  a  vile  worm,  that  he 
should  be  so  kind  and  condescending  as  to  discover  Christ 
and  heaven  in  such  a  manner  to  me,  and  assure  me  that  1 
shall  shortly  be  with  him  ?  Oh,  I  thought  that  I  had  sinned 
hira  away  from  me,  but  I  see  he  will  not  bide  away.  0 
admirable  grace!     0  help  me  to  praise  him." 

When  death  drew  near,  there  was  some  alteration  in  his 
case,  yet  he  never  questioned  his  interest  in  Christ,  but  still 
asserted,  "  I  know  he  is  my  God  and  my  Redeemer,  and  I 
will  shortly  be  with  him."  And  once,  when  he  was  ready 
to  complain  for  want  of  God's  wonted  manifestations,  he 
said,  **  The  Lord  knew  his  body  was  now  weak,  and  could 
not  bear  what  formerly  he  had  met  with ;  yet,"  said  he, 
"  glory  to  his  name,  he  hath  given  me  three  blinks  since  my 
last  illness  began." 

19.  Dr.  Harris,  head  of  Trinity  college  in  Oxford,  in  his 
last  sickness  ]ised  to  exhort  all  about  him  to  get  faith  above 
all  things.  "It  is  your  victory,  your  peace,  your  life,  your 
crown,  and  your  chief  piece  of  spiritual  armor.  Howbeit, 
get  on  all  the  other  pieces,  and  go  forth  in  the  Lord's  might. 
Stand  to  the  fight,  and  the  issue  shall  be  glorious.  Only 
forget  not  to  call  in  the  help  of  your  General.     Do  all  from 


THE   SICK  AND  DYINa.  175 

him,  and  under  him."  On  the  Lord's-day  he  would  not  have 
any  kept  from  the  ordinances  upon  his  account ;  and  when 
they  returned  from  the  sermons,  he  would  say  to  them, 
"  Come,  what  have  you  for  me  ?"  And  when  any  gave  him 
account  of  what  they  had  heard,  he  would  resume  the  heads 
thereof,  and  say,  "  0  what  excellent  truths  are  these.  Lay 
them  up  carefully,  for  you  will  have  need  of  them."  "When 
friends  came  to  visit  him,  he  would  say,  "  I  cannot  speak, 
but  I  can  hear."  Being  asked  where  his  comfort  lay,  he 
answered,  "In  Christ,  and  in  the  free  grace  of  God." 

One  telling  him  that  he  might  take  much  comfort  in  his 
labors,  and  the  good  he  had  done,  his  answer  was,  "  All  is 
nothing  without  a  Saviour;  without  him  my  best  works 
would  condemn  me.  Oh,  I  am  ashamed  of  them,  they  are 
mixed  with  sin.  I  have  done  nothing  for  God  as  I  ought. 
Oh,  loss  of  time  sits  very  heavy  upon  my  spirits.  Work, 
work  apace  ;  assure  yourselves  nothing  will  more  trouble  you 
when  you  come  to  die,  than  that  you  have  done  no  more  for 
God,  who  hath  done  so  much  for  you." 

Sometimes  he  used  thus  to  breathe  out  himself:  "  I  never 
in  all  my  life  saw  the  worth  of  a  Christ,  nor  tasted  the 
sweetness  of  God's  love  as  now  I  do."  Bemg  asked  by  min- 
isters what  they  should  chiefly  request  for  him,  he  answered, 
"Do  not  only  pray  for  me,  but  praise  God  that  he  supports 
me,  and  keeps  off  Satan  from  me  in  ray  weakness  :  beg  that 
I  may  hold  out.  I  am  now  a  good  way  home,  near  the 
shore ;  I  leave  you  tossing  on  the  sea.  0  it  is  a  good  time 
to  die  in." 

In  all  his  wills  which  he  made,  he  took  care  this  legacy 
should  be  inserted,  "Item,  I  bequeath  to  all  my  children, 
and  to  their  children's  children,  to  each  of  them  a  Bible,  with 
this  inscription.  None  but  Christ."  Housed  to  say,  "It  is 
a  hard  thing  for  a  saint  to  forgive  himself  some  faults,  when 
God  hath  forgiven  them." 

20,  David  Chitrseus,  when  he  lay  dying,  lifted  up  his 


176  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

head  from  the  pillow  to  hear  the  discourse  of  his  friends  that 
sat  by  him,  and  said,  that  "  he  should  die  with  the  greater 
comfort,  if  he  might  die  learning  something." 

21.  Mr.  Cooper,  when  dying,  said,  "  I  saw  not  my  chil- 
dren when  they  were  in  the  womb,  yet  there  the  Lord  fed 
them  without  my  care  or  knowledge.  I  shall  not  see  them 
when  I  go  out  of  the  body,  yet  shall  they  not  want  a  father." 
Again,  "Death  is  somewhat  dreary,  and  the  streams  of  that 
Jordan  between  us  and  our  Canaan  run  furiously ;  but  they 
stand  still  when  the  Ark  comes." 

22.  The  reverend  Mr.  Halyburton,  that  shining  light  in 
St.  Andrews,  when  dying,  commended  Christ  and  godliness 
with  great  earnestness  to  all  that  came  to  see  him.  He  ex- 
horted his  brethren  to  diligence  in  the  ministry.  "  It  was 
the  delight  of  my  heart,"  said  he,  "to  preach  the  gospel.  I 
desired  to  decrease,  that  the  Bridegroom  might  increase ;  and 
to  be  nothing,  that  he  might  be  all,  I  repent  that  I  did  not 
more  for  him.  0  that  I  had  the  tongues  of  men  and  angels, 
to  praise  him."  When  he  was  advised  to  lie  quiet,  he  said, 
"  Whereupon  should  a  man  bestow  his  last  breath,  but  iu 
commending  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  God  clothed  in  our 
nature,  dying  for  our  sins?" 

He  caused  to  be  read  one  of  Mr.  Rutherford's  letters,  that 
to  Mr.  John  Mein,  and  then  said,  "  That  is  a  book  I  would 
commend  to  you  all ;  there  is  more  practical  religion  in  that 
letter,  than  in  a  book  of  a  larger  volume." 

He  exhorted  some  ministers  that  came  to  see  him  to 
faithfulness.  "As  for  the  work  of  the  ministry,"  said  he, 
"it  was  my  deliberate  choice  ;  were  my  days  lengthened  out 
much  more,  and  as  troublesome  as  they  are  likely  to  be,  I 
would  rather  be  a  contemned  minister  of  God  than  the  great- 
est prince  on  earth. ^^  He  said,  when  taking  farewell  of  his 
wife,  children,  and  servants,  "  Here  is  a  demonstration  of  the 
reality  of  religion,  that  I,  a  poor,  weak,  timorous  man,  as 
much  afraid  of  death  as  any,  am  now  enabled,  by  the  power 


THE   SICK  AND  DYING.  177 

of  grace,  composedly  and  with  joy  to  look  death  in  the  face. 
I  dare  look  it  in  the  face  in  its  most  ghastly  shape,  and  hope 
within  a  Httle  while  to  have  the  victory.  I  cannot  but  com- 
meiTd  the  Lord  Jesus.  As  far  as  my  words  will  go,  I  must 
proclaim  it,  he  is  the  best  master  that  ever  I  saw."  To  his 
son  he  said,  "  If  I  had  as  many  sons  as  there  are  hairs  on 
your  head,  I  would  bestow  them  all  on  God."  To  some 
present,  he  said,  "  Sirs,  I  have  great  fears  that  a  rational  sort 
of  religion  is  coming  among  us  :  I  mean  by  that,  a  religion 
that  consists  in  a  bare  attendance  on  outward  duties  and 
ordinances,  without  the  power  of  godliness ;  and  thence  peo- 
ple shall  fall  into  a  way  of  serving  God  which  is  mere  deism, 
having  no  relation  to  Christ  Jesus  and  the  Spirit  of  God." 
He  expressed  his  fears  of  a  storm  coming  on  the  church  of 
Scotland  ;  but  he  said,  "  The  day  would  break,  and  the  Lord 
would  arise,  and  he  hoped  the  church  would  be  made  a  won- 
der, and  the  Lord  say,  Lo,  this  people  have  I  formed  for  my- 
self He  can  make  a  nation  to  be  born  at  once."  He  often 
cried  with  the  spouse  in  the  song,  "When  shall  the  day 
break,  and  the  shadows  flee  away  ?  Turn,  my  beloved,  and 
be  thou  as  a  roe,  or  a  young  hart  on  the  mountains  of 
Bether." 

He  said,  "  Shall  I  forget  Zion  ?  Nay,  let  my  right  hand 
forget  her  cunning,  if  I  prefer  not  Jerusalem  to  my  chiefest 
joy.  0,  to  have  God  returning  to  this  church,  and  his  work 
going  on  in  the  world  :  if  every  drop  of  my  blood,  every  bit 
of  my  body,  every  hair  of  my  head,  were  all  men,  they  should 
all  go  to  the  fire  to  have  this  work  going  on."  He  said,  "  If 
I  should  say  that  I  would  speak  no  more  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord,  it  would  be  like  a  fire  within  me.  1  am  calling  you 
to  see  a  miracle :  God  is  melting  me  down  into  corruption 
and  dust,  and  he  is  keeping  me  in  a  calm.  I  could  not  be- 
lieve that  I  could  have  borne,  and  borne  cheerfully,  this  rod 
so  long ;  this  is  a  miracle,  pain  without  pain ;  and  this  is 
not  a  fancy  of  a  man  disordered  in  his  brain,  but  of  one  lying 

8* 


178  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

in  full  composure.  0  blessed  be  God,  that  ever  I  was  born. 
I  have  a  father  and  mother  and  ten  brethren  and  sisters  in 
heaven,  and  I  shall  be  the  eleventh.  I  shall  shortly  be  at 
that  glory  that  I  have  been  long  expecting.  Worthy  is  the 
Lamb  to  receive  glory." 

23.  Mr.  Hugh  Mackaill,  in  his  speech  before  his  death, 
said,  "  I  have  esteemed  the  solemn  engagements  of  this  na- 
tion to  the  Lord  pregnant  performances  of  that  promise, 
Isa.  44  : 5,  where  it  is  evident  that  where  church  reforma- 
tions come  to  any  maturity,  they  arrive  at  this  degree  of 
saying,  I  am  the  Lord's,  and  subscribing  with  the  hand  unto 
the  Lord.  So  was  it  in  the  days  of  the  reforming  kings  of 
Judah,  and  after  the  restoration  from  the  captivity  of  Bab- 
ylon, in  the  days  of  Nehemiah.  This  same  promise  did  the 
Lord  Jesus  make  yea  and  amen  to  us,  when  he  redeemed  us 
from  spiritual  Babylon.  I  glorify  him,  that  he  hath  called 
me  forth  to  suffer  for  his  name  and  ordinances,  and  the  solemn 
engagements  of  the  land  to  him.  Hereafter  I  will  not  talk 
with  flesh  and  blood,  nor  think  on  the  world's  consolations. 
Farewell,  all  my  friends,  whose  company  hath  been  refresh- 
ing to  me  in  my  pilgrimage  ;  I  have  done  with  the  light  of 
the  sun  and  moon.  "Welcome  eternal  life,  everlasting  glory. 
Praise  to  Him  that  sits  upon  the  throne,  and  to  the  Lamb 
for  ever."  -\^  f'^'--^  ^  -^* 

24.  The  famous  Mr.  Durham,  in  fiii  last  sickness,  which 
was  long  and  lingering,  was  visited  by  a  minister,  who  said 
to  him,  "  Sir,  I  hope  you  have  so  set  all  in  order,  that  you 
have  nothing  else  to  do  but  to  die."  "  I  bless  God,"  said  Mr. 
Durham,  "  I  have  not  had  that  to  do  these  many  years." 

25.  The  dying  prayer  of  Mr.  Rowland  Nevant  for  his 
children  was,  that  the  Mediator's  blessing  might  be  the  por- 
tion of  every  one  of  them ;  adding  to  them,  I  charge  you 
all,  see  to  it  that  you  meet  me  on  the  right  hand  of  Christ 
at  the  great  day.  When  he  was  sometimes  much  spent 
with  his  labors,  he  would  appeal  to  God,  that  though  he 


THE   SICK  AND  DYINa.  179 

migkt  be  wearied  in  his  sei'vice,  He  would  never  be  weary 
of  it.  Being  often  distressed  in  his  body,  he  would  say  he 
was  never  better  than  in  the  pulpit,  and  that  it  was  the 
best  place  that  he  could  wish  to  die  in. 

26.  When  Mr.  Philip  Henry  was  dying,  his  pains  were 
very  sharp.  He  said  to  his  neighbors  who  came  to  see  him, 
*'  Oh  make  sure  work  for  your  souls  by  getting  an  interest 
in  Christ  while  you  are  in  health;  for  if  I  had  that  work 
to  do  now,  what  would  become  of  me  ?"  A  little  before  his 
last  illness,  he  wrote  to  a  reverend  brother,  "  Methinks  it  is 
strange  that  it  should  be  your  lot  and  mine  to  abide  so  long 
on  earth  by  the  stuff,  when  so  many  of  our  friends  are  divid- 
ing the  spoil  above ;  but  God  will  have  it  so ;  and  to  be 
willing  to  live  in  obedience  to  his  holy  will,  is  as  true  an  act 
of  grace  as  to  be  willing  to  die  when  he  calls."  One  asking 
him  how  he  did,  he  answered,  "  I  find  the  chips  fly  off  apace, 
the  tree  will  be  down  shortly."  He  was  sometimes  taken 
with  fainting-fits,  which  when  he  recovered  from,  he  would 
say,  "  Dying  is  but  a  little  more."  Once  he  said,  after  recov- 
ery, "Well,  I  thought  I  had  been  putting  into  the  harbor, 
but  I  find  I  must  go  to  sea  again." 

27.  Mr.  Matthew  Henry's  death  was  somewhat  sudden. 
A  little  before  he  died,  he  said  to  some  about  him,  "You 
have  been  used  to  take  notice  of  the  sayings  of  dying  men  : 
this  is  mine.  That  a  life  spent  in  the  service  of  God  and 
communion  with  him,  is  the  most  comfortable  and  pleasant 
life  that  any  one  can  live  in  this  world." 

28.  Holy  and  learned  Mr.  Rutherford,  a  little  before  his 
death,  left  a  written  testimony  to  our  covenanted  work  of 
reformation  ;  and  therein  he  proves  the  warrantableness  of 
nations  entering  into  covenant  with  God  under  the  New 
Testament  times,  and  shows  that  this  practice  is  the  accom- 
plishment of  several  Old  Testament  prophecies,  such  as  Jer. 
50  :  4,  5  ;  Isa.  2:3;  Zech.  8:2;  Isa.  19  :  23,  24,  25,  which 
relate  to  gospel  times  ;  and  when  he  was  dying,  sent  several 


180  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

messages  to  the  presbytery  of  St.  Andrews,  desiring  them  to 
adhere  to  God's  cause  and  covenant.  In  his  sickness  he 
often  broke  out  in  sacred  raptures,  extolling  and  commend- 
ing the  Lord  Jesus,  whom  he  often  called  his  blessed  Master, 
his  kingly  King.  "When  his  death  drew  near,  he  said,  "I 
shall  shine,  I  shall  see  him  as  he  is,  I  shall  see  him  reign, 
and  all  his  fair  company  with  him,  and  I  shall  have  my 
large  share ;  my  eyes  shall  see  my  Redeemer,  these  very 
eyes  of  mine,  and  no  other  for  me."  When  exhorting  one 
to  be  diligent  in  seeking  God,  he  said,  "It  is  no  easy  thing 
to  be  a  Christian ;  but  for  me,  I  have  gotten  the  victory, 
and  Christ  is  holding  out  both  his  arms  to  embrace  me." 
He  was  wonderfully  strengthened  against  the  fears  of  death ; 
"  For,"  said  he,  "  I  said  to  the  Lord,  if  he  should  slay  me 
five  thousand  times,  I  would  trust  in  him ;  and  I  spoke  it 
with  much  trembling,  fearing  I  should  not  make  my  boast 
good.  But  as  really  as  ever  he  spoke  to  me  by  his  Spirit ; 
he  witnessed  unto  my  heart  that  his  grace  should  be  suffi- 
cient for  me."  He  said  to  some  ministers  that  came  to  see 
him,  "  My  Lord  and  Master  is  the  chief  of  ten  thousand  of 
thousands  ;  none  is  comparable  to  him  in  heaven  or  in  earth. 
Dear  brethren,  do  all  for  him  :  pray  for  Christ,  preach  for 
Christ,  feed  the  flock  committed  to  your  charge  for  Christ ; 
visit  and  catechize  for  Christ ;  do  all  for  Christ,  and  beware 
of  man-pleasing.  Feed  the  flock  out  of  love,  the  chief  Shep- 
herd will  appear  shortly."  Once  when  he  recovered  from 
a  fainting-fit,  he  said,  "  I  feel,  I  feel,  I  believe,  I  enjoy,  I 
rejoice,  I  feed  on  manna."  As  he  took  a  little  wine  in  a 
spoon,  Mr.  Robert  Blair  said  to  him,  "  You  feed  on  the  dain- 
ties of  heaven,  and  think  nothing  of  our  cordials  on  earth." 
He  answered,  "  They  are  all  but  dung  ;  yet  they  are  Christ's 
creatures,  and  in  obedience  to  his  command,  I  take  them." 
After  some  discourse,  Mr.  Blair  said  to  him,  "  What  think 
ye  of  Christ  ?"  to  which  he  replied,  "  I  shall  live  and  adore 
him.     Glory,  glory  to  my  Creator,  and  to  my  Redeemer  for 


THE   SICK  AND  DYING.  181 

ever.  Glory  shines  in  Emmanuel's  land."  Afterwards  he 
said,  "0  that  my  brethren  did  know  what  a  Master  I  have 
served,  and  what  peace  I  have  this  day.  I  shall  sleep  in 
Christ ;  and  when  I  awake,  I  shall  be  satisfied  with  his 
likeness."  Then  he  said,  "This  night  shall  close  the  door, 
and  put  my  anchor  within  the  veil ;  I  shall  go  away  in  a 
sleep  by  five  o'clock  in  the  morning ;"  which  exactly  took 
place.  That  night,  though  he  was  very  weak,  he  often  had 
this  expression,  "  Oh  for  arms  to  embrace  him  !  Oh  for  a 
well-tuned  harp." 

"When  some  spoke  to  him  of  his  former  carefulness  and 
faithfulness  in  the  work  of  God,  he  said,  "I  disclaim  all 
that ;  the  gate  I  would  go  in  at  is  '  redemption  and  forgive- 
ness of  sins  through  his  blood.' "  His  last  words  were, 
'Glory,  glory  dwelleth  in  Emmanuel's  land." 

29.  When  Hugh  Kennedy,  provost  of  Ayr,  was  dying,  a 
minister  said  to  him,  "  You  have  cause,  sir,  to  be  assured 
that  the  angels  of  God  are  now  waiting  at  the  side  of  this 
bed  to  convey  your  soul  to  Abraham's  bosom ;"  to  whom 
his  answer  was,  "I  am  sure  thereof;  and  if  the  walls  of 
this  house  could  speak,  they  could  tell  how  many  sweet  days 
I  have  had  in  fellowship  with  God,  and  how  familiar  he 
hath  been  with  my  soul."  He  was  one  of  the  greatest 
wrestlers  with  God  there  was  in  the  age  wherein  he  lived, 
and  had  most  remarkable  returns  of  prayer.  The  great 
Mr.  Welsh,  in  a  letter  from  France,  said  of  him,  "  Happy  is 
that  city,  yea,  happy  is  that  nation  that  hath  a  Hugh  Ken- 
nedy in  it ;  I  have  myself  certainly  found  the  answers  of  his 
prayers  from  the  Lord  in  my  behalf." 

30.  The  great  Mr.  Robert  Bruce,  minister  of  Edinburgh, 
when  dying  through  weakness  and  old-age,  being  asked  by 
one  of  his  friends  how  matters  stood  now  between  God  and 
his  soul,  answered,  "When  I  was  young,  I  was  diligent, 
and  lived  by  faith  on  the  Son  of  God  ;  but  now  I  am  old, 
and  not  able  to  do  so  much,  yet  he  condescends  to  feed  me 


182  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

with  lumps  of  sense."  The  morning  before  he  died,  he 
came  to  breakfast  at  table,  and  having  eaten,  as  usual,  one 
single  egg,  he  said  to  his  daughter,  "  I  think  I  am  yet  hun- 
gry ;  you  may  bring  another."  But  presently  he  fell  into  a 
deep  meditation ;  and  having  mused  a  while,  he  said,  "  Hold, 
daughter,  hold ;  my  Master  calls  me."  With  these  words 
his  sight  failed  him,  whereupon  he  called  for  the  Bible ;  but 
finding  his  sight  gone,  he  said,  "  Turn  to  the  eighth  chapter 
of  the  epistle  to  the  Romans,  and  set  my  finger  on  these 
words,  *  I  am  persuaded  that  neither  death  nor  life  shall  be 
able  to  separate  me  from  the  love  of  God  which  is  in  Christ 
Jesus  my  Lord.'  Now,"  saith  he,  "  is  my  finger  upon  them  ?" 
They  told  him  it  was.  Then  without  any  more,  he  said, 
"God  be  with  you,  my  Children;  I  have  breakfasted  with 
you,  and  shall  sup  with  my  Lord  Jesus  Christ  this  night;" 
and  so  gave  up  the  ghost. 

31.  John  Stewart,  provost  of  Ayr,  was  a  singularly  pious 
man ;  yet  when  he  lay  dying,  he  said  to  some  about  him, 
•'  I  go  the  way  of  all  flesh,  and  it  may  be  some  of  you  doubt 
nothing  of  my  well-being;  yea,  I  testify,  that  except  when 
I  slept  or  was  on  business,  I  have  not  these  ten  years  been 
without  thoughts  of  God  so  long  as  I  should  be  in  going  from 
my  house  to  the  Cross :  and  yet  I  doubt  myself,  and  am  in 
great  agony,  yea,  at  the  brink  of  despair."  But  a  day  or 
two  before  he  died,  he  turned  his  face  to  the  wall  from  com- 
pany for  two  hours.  Then  Mr.  Ferguson  the  minister  com- 
ing in,  asked  what  he  was  doing ;  upon  which  he  turned 
himself  with  these  words  :  "I  have  been  fighting  and  work- 
ing out  my  salvation  with  fear  and  trembling  ;  and  now,  I 
bless  God,  it  is  perfected,  sealed,  confirmed,  and  all  fears 
are  gone." 

32.  Luther,  when  he  fell  sick,  made  his  will,  in  which 
he  bequeathed  his  detestation  of  popery  to  his  friend  and  to 
the  pastor  of  the  church,  and  said,  "0  Lord  God,  I  thank 
thee  that  thou  wouldst  have  me  live  a  poor  and  indigent 


THE   SICK  AND  DYINa.  183 

person  upon  earth.  I  have  neither  houses  nor  lands,  nor 
possessions,  nor  money,  to  leave.  Thou,  Lord,  hast  given 
me  M^ife  and  children ;  them,  Lord,  I  give  back  unto  thee ; 
nourish,  instruct,  and  keep  them.  0  thou  Father  of  orphans 
and  judge  of  the  v^^idow,  as  thou  hast  done  to  me,  so  do  to 
them." 

In  his  last  prayer,  Feb.  18,  1546,  he  hath  these  words: 
"  I  pray  God  to  preserve  his  gospel  among  us ;  for  the  pope 
and  the  council  of  Trent  haye  grievous  things  in  hand.  0, 
heavenly  Father,  I  give  thee  thanks  that  thou  hast  revealed 
to  me  thy  Son  Jesus  Christ,  whom  I  believe,  whom  I  profess, 
whom  I  glorify,  and  whom  the  pope  and  the  rout  of  the 
wicked  persecute  and  dishonor."  Mr.  Fox  saith  of  Luther, 
"That  a  poor  friar  should  be  able  to  stand  against  the  pope 
was  a  great  miracle ;  that  he  should  prevail  against  the  pope 
was  a  greater  ;  and  after  all  to  die  in  peace,  having  so  many 
enemies,  was  the  greatest  of  all." 

33.  Mr.  Joseph  Alleine,  a  most  faithful,  laborious  min- 
ister, being  deprived  of  the  use  of  his  arms  and  legs  before 
his  death,  was  asked  by  a  friend,  how  he  could  be  so  well 
contented  to  lie  so  long  in  that  condition.  He  answered, 
"  What,  is  God  my  Father,  is  Jesus  Christ  my  Saviour,  and 
the  Holy  Spirit  my  sanctifier  and  comforter,  and  shall  I  not 
be  content  without  limbs  and  health?  He  is  an  unreasona- 
ble wretch  that  cannot  be  content  with  a  God,  though  he 
had  nothing  else." 

When  his  people  of  Taunton  came  to  Dorchester  to  see 
him,  he  was  much  revived,  and  would  be  set  up  in  the  bed 
and  have  his  curtains  drawn  aside;  he  requested  them  to 
stand  round  the  bed,  and  caused  his  hand  to  be  held  out  to 
them,  that  they  might  take  it,  as  formerly  when  he  had  been 
absent  from  them.  And  though  very  weak,  he  spoke  to 
them  thus :  "  0  how  it  rejoiceth  my  heart  to  see  your  faces, 
and  to  hear  your  voices,  though  I  cannot  speak  as  heretofore 
unto  you.     Methinks  I  am  now  like  old  Jacob,  with  all  his 


184  AFFLICTED   MAN'S  COMPANION. 

sons  about  him.  Now  you  see  my  weak  state ,  thus  I  have 
been  for  many  weeks  since  I  parted  with  you,  but  God  hath 
been  with  me.  My  friends,  life  is  mine,  death  is  mine  ;  in 
that  covenant  of  which  I  preached  to  you,  is  all  my  salva- 
tion and  all  my  desire ;  although  my  body  doth  not  prosper,  I 
hope  through  grace  my  soul  doth.  I  have  lived  a  sweet  life 
by  the  promises,  and  hope  through  grace  to  die  by  a  promise. 
It  is  the  promises  of  God  that  will  stand  by  us.  Nothing 
but  God  in  them  will  sustain  us  in  a  day  of  affliction.  My 
dear  friends,  I  feel  the  power  of  the  doctrines  I  preached  to 
you,  on  my  heart;  the  doctrines  of  faith,  of  repentance,  of 
self  denial,  of  the  covenant  of  grace,  of  contentment,  etc. 
0  that  you  would  live  them  over,  now  I  cannot  preach  them 
to  you.  It  is  a  shame  for  a  believer  to  be  cast  down  under 
afflictions,  that  hath  so  many  glorious  privileges,  justifica- 
tion, adoption,  sanctification,  and  eternal  glory.  We  shall 
be  as  the  angels  of  God  in  a  little  while  :  nay,  to  say  the 
truth,  believers  that  live  in  the  power  of  faith,  are,  as  it 
were,  little  angels  already.  0,  my  friends,  live  like  believ- 
ers ;  trample  this  dirty  world  under  your  feet ;  be  not  taken 
up  with  its  comforts,  nor  disquieted  with  its  crosses ;  you 
will  be  gone  out  of  it  shortly." 

When  they  came  to  take  leave  of  him,  he  would  needs 
pray  with  them  as  well  as  his  weak  state  did  suffer  him. 
Then  he  said,  "Farewell,  my  dear  friends;  go  home  and 
live  over  what  I  have  preached  to  you,  and  the  Lord  provide 
for  you  when  I  am  gone.  Now  I  cannot  preach  to  you,  but 
let  my  wasted  strength  and  useless  limbs  be  a  sermon  to 
you.  There  are  many  professors  who  can  pray  well,  and 
talk  well,  whom  we  shall  find  at  the  left  hand  of  Christ  an- 
other day.  You  have  your  trades,  your  estates,  your  rela- 
tions :  be  not  taken  up  with  these,  but  with  God ;  0  live  on 
him.  For  the  Lord's  sake,  go  home  and  take  heed  of  the 
world,  worldly  cares,  worldly  comforts,  worldly  relations. 
Oh,  let  not  my  labors  and  sufferings,   let  not  my  wasted 


THE   SICK   AND   DYINa.  185 

strength  and  useless  limbs,  rise  up  in  judgment  against  you 
at  the  great  day  of  the  Lord."  Then  he  said,  "  The  Lord 
haying  given  authority  to  his  ministers  to  bless  his  people, 
accordingly  I  bless  you  in  his  name" — using  the  words  he 
always  used  after  a  sacrament — "The  Lord  bless  you  and 
keep  you;  the  Lord  cause  his  face  to  shine  upon  you,  and 
give  you  peace.  And  the  God  of  peace,  that  brought  again 
from  the  dead  our  Lord  Jesus,  that  great  Shepherd  of  the 
sheep,  through  the  blood  of  the  everlasting  covenant,  make 
you  perfect  in  every  good  work  to  do  his  will,  working  in  you 
that  which  is  well-pleasing  in  his  sight,  through  Jesus  Christ : 
to  whom  be  glory  for  ever  and  ever.     Amen." 

In  the  morning  his  first  words  would  be,  which  he  also 
used  in  his  health,  "Now  we  have  one  day  more,  this  is  one 
more  for  God ;  now  let  us  live  well  this  day,  work  hard  for 
our  souls,  lay  up  much  treasure  in  heaven  this  day,  for  we 
have  but  a  few  to  live." 

Being  taken  to  Bath,  where  he  met  with  extraordinary 
kindness  from  strangers — for  many  resorted  to  him,  to  sec 
him  and  hear  him  speak,  having  heard  what  a  monument  of 
mercy  he  was — he  delighted  himself  much  in  the  considera- 
tion of  the  Lord's  kindness  to  him,  and  the  tokens  of  love 
from  strangers,  and  would  often  say,  "I  was  a  stranger,  and 
mercy  took  me  in ;  in  prison,  and  it  came  to  me ;  sick  and 
weak,  and  it  visited  me."  He  had  been  much  persecuted,  and 
put  in  prison  for  no  other  crime  but  preaching  the  gospel. 

He  had  a  most  pious  and  affectionate  wife,  who  waited 
closely  upon  him;  to  whom  he  said,  "Now,  my  dear  heart, 
my  companion  in  all  my  tribulations  and  afflictions,  I  thank 
thee  for  all  thy  pains  and  labors  for  me  at  home  and  abroad, 
in  prison  and  at  liberty,  in  health  and  sickness."  And  he 
prayed  that  the  Lord  would  requite  her,  fill  her  with  all 
manner  of  grace  and  consolation,  and  support  and  carry  her 
through  all  difficulties. 

He  had  some  conflicts  with  Satan  a  little  before  his 


186  AFFLICTED  MAN'S   COMPANION. 

death.  Once  he  uttered  these  words  :  "  Away,  thou  vile 
fiend,  thou  enemy  of  all  mankind,  thou  subtle  sophist :  art 
thou  now  come  to  molest  me,  now  that  I  am  just  going; 
now  that  I  am  so  weak,  and  death  upon  me  ?  Trouble  me 
not,  for  I  am  none  of  thine :  I  am  the  Lord's ;  Christ  is  mine 
and  I  am  his,  his  by  covenant;  I  have  sworn  myself  to  be 
the  Lord's,  and  his  I  will  be;  therefore  be  gone."  These 
last  words. he  repeated  often,  pleading  his  covenant  with 
God  as  a  means  to  resist  the  devil  and  his  temptations. 
When  he  looked  on  his  weak  and  wasted  hands,  he  would 
say„  "  These  shall  be  changed:  this  vile  body  shall  be  made 
like  to  Christ's  glorious  body.  0  what  a  glorious  day  will 
the  day  of  resurrection  be  I  Methinks  I  see  it  by  faith. 
How  will  the  saints  lift  up  their  heads  and  rejoice;  and  how 
sadly  will  the  wicked  world  look  then.  0  come,  let  us  make 
haste,  our  Lord  will  come  shortly.  If  we  long  to  be  in 
heaven,  let  us  hasten  with  our  work ;  for  when  that  is  done, 
away  we  shall  be  taken.  0  this  vain,  foolish,  dirty  world. 
I  wonder  how  reasonable  creatures  can  so  doat  upon  it. 
What  is  in  it  worth  looking  after?  I  care  not  to  be  in  it 
longer  than  while  my  Master  hath  work  for  me  ^  either  doing 
or  suffering:  were  that  done,  farewell  to  earth." 

This  eminent  saint  had  this  testimony  given  him  by  one  : 
"  It  may  be  said  of  him,  in  as  high  a  degree  as  of  most  saints 
on  earth,  that  each  thought  was  to  him  a  prayer,  each  prayer 
a  song,  each  day  a  Sabbath,  each  meal  a  sacrament,  and  so 
his  life  on  earth  a  foretaste  of  that  eternal  repast  to  which 
he  hath  now  arrived." 

34.  The  noble  Marquis  of  Argyle,  being  a  zealous  friend 
of  our  covenanted  reformation,  was  put  to  death  May  27, 
1661.  His  friends  contrived  methods  for  his  escape  out  of 
the  castle  of  Edinburgh ;  but  he  thanked  them,  and  told 
them  he  would  not  disown  the  good  cause  he  had  so  pub- 
licly espoused,  but  resolved  to  suffer  the  utmost.  When  the 
sentence  of  death  was  passed  by  the  parhament,  on  Satur- 


THE   SICK  AND  DYING.  187 

day,  May  25,  he  said,  "I  had  the  honor  to  set  the  crown 
upon  the  kmg's  head,  and  now  he  hastens  me  to  a  better 
crown  than  his  own."  Then  he  was  sent  to  the  Tolbooth. 
His  excellent  lady  embracing  him  when  he  entered,  wept 
bitterly,  saying  several  times,  "The  Lord  will  requite  it." 
No  one  in  the  room  could  refrain  from  tears ;  but  the  marquis 
himself  was  perfectly  composed,  and  said,  "Forbear,  forbear; 
truly  I  pity  them,  they  know  not  what  they  are  doing :  they 
may  shut  me  in  where  they  please,  but  they  cannot  shut  out 
God  from  me.  For  my  part,  I  am  as  content  to  be  here  as 
in  the  castle,  and  as  content  in  the  castle  as  in  the  tower  of 
London" — where  he  was  first  put — "  and  as  content  there 
as  at  liberty ;  and  I  hope  to  be  as  content  upon  the  scaffold 
as  any  of  them  all."  ^e  added,  that  he  remembered  a  scrip- 
ture cited  lately  to  him  by  an  honest  minister  in  the  castle, 
and  endeavored  to  put  it  in  practice :  when  Ziklag  was  taken 
and  burnt,  and  the  people  spoke  of  stoning  David,  "he  en- 
couraged himself  in  the  Lord  his  God."  All  his  short  time, 
till  Monday,  he  spent  with  the  greatest  serenity  and  cheer- 
fulness, and  in  the  proper  exercises  of  a  dying  Christian. 
He  said  to  some  ministers,  allowed  to  be  with  him  in  the 
prison,  that  shortly  they  would  envy  him  who  was  going  be- 
fore them ;  and  added,  "  Mind  what  I  tell  you :  my  skill  fails, 
if  you  who  are  ministers  will  not  either  suffer  much  or  sin 
much ;  for  though  ypu  go  along  with  these  men  in  part,  if 
you  do  it  not  in  all  things,  you  are  but  where  you  were,  and 
so  must  suffer :  and  if  you  go  not  at  all  with  them,  you  shall 
but  suffer." 

The  marquis  was  naturally  timorous,  but  he  desired  those 
about  him  to  observe,  as  he  could  not  but  do,  that  the  Lord 
had  heard  his  prayers  and  removed  all  fear  from  him.  And 
indeed  his  friends'  work  was  to  restrain  and  qualify  his  fer- 
vent longings  after  his  dissolution,  and  not  to  support  him 
under  the  near  views  of  it.  The  Lord  was  exceeding  kind 
to  him  at  this  time ;  for  on  Monday  morning,  the  day  he 


188  AFFLICTED  MAN'S   COMPANION. 

suffered,  when  he  was  in  the  midst  of  company,  and  throng- 
ed with  subscribing  papers  relating  to  his  estate,  he  was  so 
overcome  with  a  special  manifestation  from  God,  that  he 
broke  out  in  a  rapture,  and  said,  "  I  thought  to  have  con- 
cealed the  Lord's  goodness,  but  it  will  not  do  :  I  am  now 
ordering  my  affairs,  and  God  is  sealing  my  charter  to  a  bet- 
ter inheritance,  and  just  now  saying  to  me,  'Son,  be  of  good 
cheer;  thy  sins  are  forgiven  thee.'"  After  he  had  retired 
some  time  alone,  when  he  opened  the  door,  Mr.  Hutcheson, 
one  of  the  ministers  that  attended  him,  said  to  him,  *'  What 
cheer,  my  lord?"  He  answered,  "Good  cheer,  sir ;  the  Lord 
hath  again  confirmed  and  said  to  me,  from  heaven,  '  Son,  be 
of  good  cheer ;  thy  sins  are  forgiven  thee.' "  And  he  gushed 
out  in  abundance  of  tears  of  joy,  so  that  he  retired  to  the 
window  and  wept  there.  Afterwards  he  said  in  a  perfect 
rapture  to  Mr.  Hutcheson,  "  I  think  his  kindness  overcomes 
me  :  but  God  is  good  to  me,  and  lets  not  out  too  much  of  it 
here,  for  he  knows  I  could  not  bear  it ;  get  my  cloak,  and 
let  us  go."  But  being  told  that  the  town-clock  was  kept 
back,  so  that  the  hour  was  not  yet  come,  he  answered,  "  They 
were  far  in  the  wrong ;"  and  presently  kneeled  down  and 
prayed  in  a  most  sweet  and  heavenly  manner,  to  the  refresh- 
ment of  all  that  were  present. 

When  he  was  going  out  to  the  scaffold,  he  said,  "  I  could 
die  like  a  Roman,  but  I  choose  rather  to  die  as  a  Christian. 
Come  away,  gentlemen;  he  that  goes  first,  goes  cleanliest." 
W^hen  going  down,  he  called  Mr.  James  Guthrie  to  him, 
and  embracing  him  in  the  most  endearing  way,  took  his 
farewell  'of  him.  Mr.  Guthrie,  at  parting,  addressed  the 
marquis  thus  :  "  My  lord,  God  hath  been  with  you,  he  is 
with  you,  and  God  will  be  with  you  ;  and  such  is  my  respect 
for  your  lordship,  that  if  I  were  not  under  the  sentence  of 
death  myself,  I  could  cheerfully  die  for  your  lordship."  So 
they  parted  for  a  short  season,  in  two  or  three  days  to  meet 
in  a  better  place. 


'     THE   SICK  AND  DYINO.  .        189 

The  marquis,  in  his  speech  on  the  scaffold,  hath  these 
words  :  "God  hath  laid  engagements  upon  Scotland  ;  we 
are  tied  by  covenant  to  religion  and  reformation.  Those 
that  were  then  unborn  are  engaged  to  it,  and  it  passeth  the 
power  of  any  under  heaven  to  absolve  a  man  from  the  oath 
of  God." 

35.  Mr.  John  Welsh  was  minister  of  the  gospel  at  Ayr. 
Mr.  Rutherford,  in  his  preface  to  his  Survey  of  Antinomian- 
ism,  calls  him  "that  apostolic,  heavenly,  and  prophetical 
man  of  God  ;"  and  tells  us  that  he  heard  it  from  those  who 
were  witnesses  of  his  life,  that  of  every  twenty-four  hours 
he  gave  usually  eight  to  prayer,  and  that  he  spent  many 
nights  in  prayer  to  God,  interceding  for  suffering  Protestants 
abroad,  as  well  as  for  his  mother-church.  Mr.  Welsh,  when 
prisoner  in  the  castle  of  Blackness,  and  in  the  view  of  death — 
being  condemned  to  it  for  maintaining  the  liberties  of  the 
church,  though  afterwards  the  sentence  was  changed  into 
banishment — hath  these  words,  in  a  letter  to  his  Christian 
lady : 

"  I  long  to  eat  of  that  tree  which  is  planted  in  the  midst 
of  the  paradise  of  God,  and  to  drink  of  the  pure  river,  clear 
as  crystal,  that  runs  through  the  street  of  the  new  Jerusa- 
lem. I  long  to  be  refreshed,  with  the  souls  of  them  that  are 
under  the  altar,  who  were  slain  for  the  word  of  God  and  the 
testimony  that  they  held ;  and  to  have  those  white  robes 
given  me,  that  I  may  walk  in  white  raiment  with  those 
glorious  saints  who  have  washed  their  garments,  and  made 
them  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb.  Why  should  I  think 
it  a  strange  thing  to  be  removed  from  this  place  to  that 
where  my  hope,  my  joy,  my  crown,  my  elder  Brother,  my 
Head,  my  Father,  my  Comforter,  and  all  the  glorious  saints 
are,  and  where  the  song  of  Moses  and  the  Lamb  is  sung  joy- 
fully ;  where  we  shall  not  be  compelled  to  sit  by  the  waters 
of  Babylon  and  hang  our  harps  on  the  willow-trees,  but  shall 
take  them  up  and  sing  the  new  hallelujah,  Blessing,  honor, 


190  AFFLICTED  MAN'S   COMPANION. 

glory,  and  power  to  Him  that  sits  upon  the  throne,  and  to 
the  Lamb,  for  ever  and  ever  ?  What  is  there  under  the  old 
vault  of  the  heavens,  and  in  this  old,  worn  earth,  which  is 
groaning  under  the  bondage  of  corruption,  that  should  make 
me  desire  to  remain  here  ?  I  expect  that  new  heaven  and 
new  earth  wherein  righteousness  dwelleth,  wherein  I  shall 
rest  for  evermore.  I  look  to  get  an  entry  to  the  new  Jeru- 
salem at  one  of  the  twelve  gates,  whereupon  are  written  the 
names  of  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel.  I  know  that  Jesus 
Christ  hath  prepared  them  for  me.  Why  may  I  not  then, 
with  boldness  in  his  blood,  step  into  that  glory,  where  my 
Head  and  Lord  hath  gone  before  me  ?  Jesus  Christ  is  the 
door  and  the  porter  ;  who  then  shall  hold  me  out  ?  0  thou 
fairest  among  the  children  of  men,  the  delight  of  mankind, 
the  light  of  the  Gentiles,  the  glor}^  of  the  Jews,  the  life  of  the 
dead,  the  joy  of  angels  and  saints,  my  soul  panteth  to  be 
with  thee.  I  refuse  not  to  die  with  thee,  that  I  may  live 
with  thee ;  I  refuse  not  to  suffer  with  thee,  that  I  may 
rejoice  with  thee.  0  when  shall  I  be  filled  with  his  love  ?^ 
Surely  if  a  man  knew  how  precious  it  is,  he  would  count  all 
things  but  dross  and  dung  to  gain  it.  I  long  for  that  scaf- 
fold, or  that  axe,  or  that  cord,  that  might  be  to  me  the  last 
step  of  this  my  wearisome  journey,  to  go  to  thee,  my  Lord. 
Who  am  I,  that  he  should  first  have  called  me,  and  then 
constituted  me  a  minister  of  the  glad  tidings  of  the  gospel  of 
salvation  these  many  years ;  and  now  last  of  all  to  be  a  suf- 
ferer for  his  cause  and  kingdom?  These  two  points,  first, 
that  Christ  is  the  head  of  the  church  ;  secondly,  that  she  is 
free  "in  her  government  from  all  other  jurisdiction,  except 
Christ ;  yea,  as  free  as  any  kingdom  under  heaven,  not  only 
to  convocate,  hold,  and  keep  her  meetings  and  assemblies,  but 
also  to  judge  of  all  her  affairs  amongst  her  members  and 
subjects  :  these  are  the  cause  of  our  sufferings.  I  would  be 
most  glad  to  be  offered  up  as  a  sacrifice  for  these  glorious 
truths  ;  but,  alas,  I  fear  that  my  sins,  and  the  abuse  of  such 


THE   SICK  AND  DYING-.  191 

glorious  things  as  I  have  found,  should  deprive  me  of  so  fair 
a  crown.  Yet  my  Lord  doth  know,  if  he  would  call  me  to 
it,  and  strengthen  me  in  it,  it  would  be  to  me  the  most 
glorious  day  and  gladest  hour  I  ever  saw  in  my  life  ;  but 
I  am  in  his  hands,  to  do  with  me  whatsoever  shall  please 
him." 

This  eminent  saint  spent  much  of  his  time  in  the  mount 
of  prayer  and  wrestling  with  God,  was  admitted  to  very 
intimate  nearness  with  him,  and  had  many  secret  things 
revealed  to  him  from  God.  He  used  to  say,  "  he  wondered 
how  a  Christian  could  lie  in  bed  all  night,  without  rising  to 
spend  some  of  the  night  in  prayer  and  praise." 

In  his  last  illness  he  had  a  great  weakness  in  his  knees, 
caused  by  his  continual  kneeling  at  prayer  ;  the  flesh  became 
insensible  and  hard,  like  a  sort  of  horn ;  but  when  in  his 
weakness  he  was  urged  to  remit  somewhat  of  his  former  self- 
denial,  his  answer  was,  "he  had  his  life  of  God,  and  there- 
fore it  should  be  spent  for  him."  During  his  sickness  he- 
was  so  filled  with  the  sensible  enjoyment  of  God,  that  he 
was  sometimes  overheard  in  prayer  to  use  these  words  : 
"  Lord,  hold  thy  hand,  it  is  enough ;  thy  servant  is  a  clay 
vessel,  and  can  hold  no  more." 

36.  Mr.  Christopher  Love,  minister  of  Laurence-jury  in 
London,  was  beheaded  on  Tower-hill,  August  22,  1651,  in 
the  time  of  Cromwell,  for  suspected  plotting  against  his 
government.  His  words  on  the  scaffold  were  most  pathetic 
and  weighty  :  "  Although,"  said  he,  "  there  is  but  little  be- 
tween me  and  death,  yet  this  bears  up  my  heart,  there  is 
but  little  between  me  and  heaven.  It  comforted  Dr.  Taylor 
the  martyr,  when  he  was  going  to  execution,  that  there 
were  but  two  stiles  between  him  and  his  Father's  house  ; 
now  there  is  a  less  distance  between  me  and  my  Father's 
house — ^but  two  steps  between  me  and  glory.  It  is  but 
lying  down  upon  that  block,  and  I  shall  ascend  upon  a 
throne.     I  am  this  day  sailing  towards  the  ocean  of  eternity, 


192  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

through  a  rough  passage,  to  my  haven  of  rest — through  a 
Red  sea  to  the  promised  laud.  Methinks  I  hear  God  say  to 
me  as  he  did  to  Moses,  Go  up  to  mount  Nebo  and  die  there ; 
so  to  me,  Go  up  to  Tower-hill  and  die  there.  Isaac  said  to 
himself  that  he  was  old,  and  yet  he  knew  not  the  day  of  his 
death  ;  but  I  cannot  say  so.  I  am  young,  and  yet  I  know 
the  day  of  my  death ;  and  I  know  the  kind  of  my  death, 
and  the  place  of  my  death  also*.  I  am  put  to  such  a  kind 
of  death  as  two  famous  preachers  of  the  gospel  were  put  to 
before  me  ;  John  the  Baptist  and  Paul  the  apostle  were  both 
beheaded.  I  read  also  in  Rev.  20  :  4,  '  The  saints  were 
beheaded  for  the  word  of  God,  and  the  testimony  of  Jesus.' 
But  herein  is  the  disadvantage  which  I  lie  under  in  the 
thoughts  of  many  ;  they  judge  that  I  suffer  not  for  the  word 
of  God  or  for  conscience,  but  for  meddling  with  affairs  of 
state.  To  this  I  shall  briefly  say,  that  it  is  an  old  trick  of 
Satan  to  impute  the  cause  of  God's  people's  sufferings  to  be 
contrivances  against  the  state,  when  in  truth  it  is  their  relig- 
ion and  conscience  they  are  persecuted  for.  The  rulers  of 
Israel  would  have  put  Jeremiah  to  death  upon  a  civil  ac- 
count, though  indeed  it  was  only  the  truth  of  his  prophecy 
that  made  the  rulers  angry  with  him  ;  and  yet,  upon  a  civil 
account,  they  pretend  he  must  die,  because  he  fell  away  to 
the  Chaldeans,  and  would  have  brought  in  foreign  forces  to 
invade  them.  The  same  thing  is  laid  to  my  charge,  of 
which  I  am  as  innocent  as  Jeremiah  was.  So  with  Paul ; 
though  he  did  but  preach  Jesus  Christ,  yet  his  enemies 
would  have  had  him  put  to  death  under  pretence  that  he 
was  a  mover  of  sedition.  Upon  a  civil  account,  they  pre- 
tend, my  life  is  to  be  taken  away ;  whereas  it  is  because  I 
pursue  my  covenant,  and  will  not  prostitute  my  principles 
and  conscience  to  the  ambition  and  lust  of  men.  I  had 
rather  die  a  covenant-keeper,  than  live  a  covenant-breaker. 
Beloved,  I  am  this  day  making  a  double  exchange  :  I  am 
changing  a  pulpit  for  a  scaffold,  and  a  scaflbld  for  a  throne ; 


THE    SICK  AND  DYINO.  193 

and  I  might  add  a  third  :  I  am  changing  the  presence  of 
this  numerous  multitude  on  Tower-hill  for  the  innumerable 
company  of  saints  and  angels  in  heaven — the  holy  hill  of 
Zion ;  and  I  am  changing  a  guard  of  soldiers  for  a  guard  of 
angels,  which  will  receive  me  and  carry  me  to  Abraham's 
bosom.  This  scaffold  is  the  best  pulpit  that  ever  I  preached 
in.  In  my  church  pulpit,, God  through  his  grace  made  me 
an  instrument  to  bring  others  to  heaven,  but  in  this  pulpit 
he  will  bring  me  to  heaven."  Afterwards  he  said,  "  Though 
my  blood  be  not  the  blood  of  nobles,  yet  it  is  Christian  blood, 
minister's  blood  ;  yea,  more,  it  is  also  innocent  blood.  I 
magnify  the  riches  of  God's  mercy  and  grace  towards  me, 
that  I,  who  was  born  in  Wales,  an  obscure  country,  and  of 
obscure  parents,  should  be  singled  out  to  so  honorable  suffer- 
ings. For  the  first  fourteen  years  of  my  life,  I  never  heard 
a  sermon  preached ;  yet  in  the  fifteenth  year  of  my  life  it 
pleased  God  to  convert  me.  Blessed  be  God,  who  not  only 
made  me  a  Christian,  but  also  a  minister,  judging  me  faith- 
ful and  putting  me  into  the  ministry,  which  is  my  glory. 
I  had  rather  be  a  preacher  in  a  pulpit  than  a  prince  upon  a 
throne  ;  I  had  rather  be  an  instrument  to  bring  souls  to 
heaven,  than  that  all  nations  should  pay  tribute  to  me. 
Formerly  I  have  been  under  a  spirit  of  bondage  ;  yea,  some- 
times I  have  had  more  fear  in  drawing  out  a  tooth,  than 
now  I  have  for  cutting  off  my  head.  When  fear  was  upon 
me,  death  was  not  near  ;  now  death  is  near  me,  my  fear  is 
vanished.  I  am  comforted  in  this  :  though  men  kill  me, 
they  cannot  damn  me  ;  though  they  thrust  me  out  of  the 
world,  yet  they  cannot  shut  me  out  of  heaven.  When  I 
have  shed  my  blood,  I  expect  the  full  declaration  of  the 
remission  of  sins  through  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ.  I  am 
going  to  my  long  home,  and  ye  to  your  short  homes ;  but  I 
shall  be  at  my  home  before  ye  be  at  yours."  He  prayed, 
that  seeing  "  he  was  called  to  do  the  work  which  he  never 
did,  he  might  have  the  strength  which  he  never  had." 

Am.  Mnn'!'<^"mp.  9 


194  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

Dr.  Wild,  in  his  elegy,  hath  these  hnes  : 

"  Methinks  I  hear  beheaded  saints  above 
Call  to  each  other,  Sirs,  make  room  for  Love. 
Who,  when  he  came  to  tread  the  fatal  stage — 
Which  proved  his  glory,  and  his  enemies'  rage — 
His  blood  ne'er  run  to 's  heart ;  Christ's  blood  was  there, 
Reviving  it;  his  own  was  all  to  spare; 
^        Which,  rising  in  his  cheeks,  did  seem  to  say, 

Is  this  the  blood  you  thirst  for  ?     Take  it,  I  pray. 
Spectators  in  his  looks  such  life  did  see. 
That  they  appeared  more  like  to  die  than  he. 
Lightning,  which  filled  the  air  with  blazing  light, 
Did  serve  for  torches  at  that  dismal  night ; 
In  which   and  all  next  day  for  many  hours. 
Heaven  groaned  in  thunder,  and  did  weep  in  showers  : 
Nor  do  1  wonder  that  God  thundered  so ; 
His  Boanerges  murdered  lay  below." 

37.  Mrs.  Joyce  Lewis  being  condemned  to  be  burnt  for 
the  Protestant  rehgion  in  queen  Mary's  reign,  when  she 
heard  that  the  writ  for  her  execution  was  come,  said  to  her 
friends,  "  As  for  death,  I  fear  it  not ;  for  when  I  behold  the 
amiable  countenance  of  Jesus  Christ  my  dear  Saviour,  the 
ugly  face  of  death  doth  not  much  trouble  me." 

38.  Bullinger  of  Zurich,  in  his  sickness,  said  to  his 
friends,  "  If  the  Lord  will  make  any  further  use  of  me  and 
my  ministry  in  his  church,  I  willingly  obey  him ;  but  if  he 
please,  as  I  much  desire,  to  take  me  out  of  this  miserable 
life,  I  shall  exceedingly  rejoice  that  he  pleaseth  to  take  me 
out  of  this  corrupt  and  wretched  age  to  go  to  my  Saviour 
Christ.  For  if  Socrates  was  glad  when  his  death  approached, 
because  he  thought  he  should  go  to  Homer,  Hesiod,  and  other 
learned  men  whom  he  expected  to  meet  with  in  the  other 
world ;  how  much  more  do  I  joy,  who  am  sure  that  I  shall 
see  my  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  as  also  the  saints,  patriarchs, 
prophets,  apo&tles,  and  all  the  holy  men  who  have  lived 
from  the  beginning  of  the  world  ?  Now,  when  I  am  sure 
to  see  them,  and  to  partake  of  their  joys,  why  should  I  not 
willingly  die,  to  enjoy  their  perpetuq,!  society  and  glory?" 


THE    SICK  AND  DYINa.  195 

39.  Mr.  Theodore  Beza,  a  famous  pastor  in  Geneva, 
when  he  apprehended  the  approach  of  death,  revised  his 
will ;  and  so,  dismissing  all  worldly  thoughts,  wholly  betook 
himself  to  expect  the  time  of  his  departure,  which  he  had 
much  longed  for.  He  often  used  the  apostle's  saying,  "  We 
are  his  workmanship,  created  in  Christ  Jesus  unto  good 
works  ;"  and  that  of  Augustine  :  Domine  quod  ccepisti  per- 
fice,  ne  in  portu  naufragum  accidat — "Lord,  perfect  that 
which  thou  hast  begun,  that  I  suffer  not  shipwreck  in  the 
haven ;"  and  that  saying  of  Bernard  :  Domine,  sequemur 
te,  per  te,  ad  te.  Te,  quia  Veritas  ;  per  te,  quia  via :  ad 
te,  quia  vita — "  Lord,  we  will  follow  thee,  by  thee,  to  thee  : 
thee,  because  thou  art  the  truth  ;  by  thee,  because  thou  art 
the  way  ;  to  thee,  because  thou  art  the  life." 

40.  Melancthon  of  Wittemberg,  Luther's  dear  compan- 
ion, said  that  "  he  much  longed  to  be  dissolved,  and  that 
for  two  reasons  :  that  he  might  enjoy  the  much-desired  pres- 
ence and  sight  of  Christ  and  of  the  heavenly  church,  and 
that  he  might  be  freed  from  the  cruel  and  implacable  dis- 
cords of  divines." 

41.  Mr.  John  Bradford,  a  minister  and  martyr  in  queen 
Mary's  reign,  when  the  keeper  told  him  that  the  next  day 
he  was  to  be  burnt  in  Smithfield,  put  off  his  cap,  and  lifting 
up  his  eyes  to  heaven,  said,  "  I  thank  God  for  it ;  it  comes 
not  now  to  me  on  a  sudden,  but  as  a  thing  waited  for  every 
day  and  hour ;  the  Lord  make  me  worthy  of  it."  One 
Cresswell  offering  to  interpose  for  him,  and  desiring  to  know 
what  his  request  was,  he  said,  "I  have  no  request  to  make. 
If  the  queen  give  me  my  life,  I  will  thank  her  ;  if  she  will 
banish  me,  I  will  thank  her ;  if  she  will  burn  me,  I  will 
thank  her  ;  if  she  will  condemn  me  to  perpetual  imprison- 
ment, I  will  thank  her."  The  chancellor  pressing  him  to 
do  as  others  ha*d  done,  in  hopes  of  the  queen's  mercy,  he 
said,  "  My  Lord,  I  desire  mercy  with  God's  mercy  ;  that  is, 
without  doing  or  saying  any  thing  against  God  and  his  truth. 


196  AFFLICTED  MAN'S   COMPANION. 

But  mercy  with  God's  wrath,  God  keep  me  from.  God's 
mercy,"  added  he,  "  I  desire,  and  also  would  be  glad  of  the 
queen's  favor  to  live  as  a  subject  without  clog  on  conscience  ; 
but  otherwise,  the  Lord's  mercy  is  better  to  me  than  life. 
Life  in  his  displeasure  is  worse  than  death,  and  death  with 
his  favor  is  true  life." 

In  his  letter  to  Dr.  Cranmer,  Dr.  Ridley,  and  Dr.  Lati- 
mer, he  hath  these  words  :  "  Our  dear  brother  Rogers  hath 
broken  the  ice  valiantly.  This  day,  or  to-morrow  at  the 
utmost,  hearty  Hooper,  sincere  Saunders,  and  trusty  Taylor 
will  end  their  course  and  receive  their  crown.  The  next 
am  I,  who  hourly  look  for  the  porter  to  open  me  the  gates 
after  them,  to  enter  into  the  desired  rest.  God  forgive  me 
my  unthankfulness  for  this  exceeding  great  mercy.  Though 
I  suffer  justly — for  I  have  been  a  great  hypocrite,  unthank- 
ful, etc.,  the  Lord  pardon  me  ;  yea,  he  hath  done  it,  he  hath 
done  it  indeed — yet  what  evil  hath  he  done  ?  Christ,  whom 
the  prelates  persecute,  his  truth  which  they,  hate  in  me,  had 
done  no  evil,  nor  deserved  death.  0  what  am  I,  Lord,  that 
thou  shouldst  thus  magnify  me  ?  Is  it  thy  will  to  send  for 
such  a  wretched  hypocrite  in  a  fiery  chariot,  as  thou  didst 
send  for  Elias  ?" 

In  one  of  his  meditations,  after  confession  of  sin,  he  said, 
"  0  what  now  may  we  do ;  despair?  no,  for  thou  art  God, 
and  therefore  good ;  thou  art  merciful,  and  therefore  thou 
forgivest  sin  ;  with  thee  there  is  mercy  and  propitiation,  and 
therefore  thou  art  worshipped.  When  Adam  sinned,  thou 
gavest  him  mercy  before  he  desired  it ;  and  wilt  thou  deny 
us  mercy,  who  now  desire  the  same?  Adam  excused  his 
fault,  and  accused  thee  ;  but  we  accuse  ourselves,  and  ex- 
cuse thee ;  and  shall  we  be  sent  empty  away  ?  How  often 
in  the  wilderness  didst  thou  spare  Israel,  and  defer  thy 
plagues  at  the  request  of  Moses,  when  the  people  themselves 
made  no  petition  to  thee.  Now,  not  only  do  we  make  our 
petitions  to  thee,  but  we  also  have  a  Mediator,  far  above 


THE   SICK  AND  DYINO.  197 

Moses,  to  appear  for  us,  even  Jesus  Christ,  thine  own  Son ; 
and  shall  we,  dear  Lord,  depart  ashamed  ?  0  merciful  Lord, 
for  thine  own  glory  suffer  not  the  enemy  of  thy  Son  Christ, 
the  Romish  antichrist,  thus  wretchedly  to  delude  and  draw 
from  thee  our  poor  brethren,  for  whom  thy  dear  Son  once 
died.  Suffer  him  not  to  seduce  the  ignorant  with  his  vain 
opinion,  that  his  false  gods,  his  blind,  mumbling,  feigned 
religion,  or  his  foolish  superstition,  doth  give  him  such  con- 
quests, such  victories,  and  such  triumphs  over  us.  But,  0 
Lord,  this  is  thy  righteous  judgment,  to  punish  us  with  the 
tyrannical  yoke  of  blindness,  because  we  have  cast  away 
from  us  the  sM^eet  yoke  of  the  wholesome  words  of  thy  Son 
our  Saviour." 

In  his  letter  to  Mrs.  Anna  Warcup,  he  said,  "My  staff 
standeth  at  the  door.  I  look  continually  for  the  sheriff  to 
come  for  me  ;  I  bless  God  I  am  ready  for  him.  Now  go  I 
to  practise  that  which  I  have  preached.  Now  I  am  climb- 
ing up  the  hill ;  it  will  cause  me  to  puff  and  blow  before  I 
come  to  the  cliff.  The  hill  is  steep  and  high,  my  breath  is 
short,  and  my  strength  is  feeble.  Pray  therefore  to  the  Lord 
for  me,  that  as  I  have  now  through  his  goodness  even 
almost  come  to  the  top,  I  may  by  his  grace  be  strengthened, 
not  to  rest  till  I  arrive  where  I  should  be." 

He  was  remarkable  for  humility  and  self-abasement, 
though  a  most  eminent  saint.  He  subscribed  some  of  his 
letters,  The  most  miserable,  hard-hearted,  unthankful  sinner, 
John  Bradford.  A  very  painted  hypocrite,  John  Bradford. 
Miserimus  peccator,  John  Bradford.  The  sinful  John  Brad- 
ford. 

42.  Mr.  Edward  Deering,  a  little  before  his  death,  said 
to  his  friends,  "  As  for  my  death,  I  bless  God  I  feel  and  find 
so  much  inward  joy  and  comfort  to  my  soul,  that  if  I  were 
put  to  my  xshoice  whether  I  would  die  or  live,  I  would  a 
thousand  times  rather  choose  death  than  life,  if  it  may  agree 
with  the  holy  will  of  God." 


J96  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

43.  Mr.  Robert  RoUock,  when  dying,  prayed,  "Lord,  I 
have  hitherto  seen  but  darkly  in  the  glass  of  thy  word  ;  now 
grant  that  I  may  enjoy  the  eternal  fruition  of  thy  counte- 
nance, which  I  have  so  much  desired  and  longed  for.  Haste, 
Lord,  and  do  not  tarry  ;  I  am  weary  both  of  nights  and 
days ;  come.  Lord  Jesus,  that  I  may  come  to  thee.  Break 
these  eye-strings,  and  give  me  others :  I  desire  to  be  dis- 
solved, and  to  be  with  thee  ;  haste,  Lord  Jesus,  thrust  thy 
hand  into  my  body,  and  take  my  soul  to  thyself  0  my 
sweet  Lord,  set  this  soul  of  mine  free,  that  it  may  enjoy  her 
husband." 

44.  Galeacious  Carracciolus,  marquis  of  Vico,  when 
dying,  took  leave  of  his  wife  and  all  his  Christian  friends, 
telhng  them  he  would  lead  them  the  way  to  heaven.  And 
he  cried  to  Jesus  Christ,  that  "  as  he  had  sought  Him  all 
his  life,  so  now  He  would  receive  and  acknowledge  him  as 
his  own." 

45.  The  famous  Lord  Duplesis  in  France,  when  dying, 
was  much  concerned  for  the  church  of  God  in  distress,  pray- 
ing earnestly  for  her  deliverance.  He  particularly  blessed 
such  of  his  grandchildren  as  were  in  pursuit  of  learning, 
saying,  that  "  he  was  assured  they  should  be  blessed  with 
the  blessings  both  of  heaven  above,  and  of  the  earth  beneath." 
When  a  minister  spoke  of  the  service  he  had  done  the  church 
by  his  writings,  he  said,  "Alas,  what  was  there  of  mine  in 
that  work  ?  Say  not  that  it  was  I,  but  God  by  me."  Then 
lifting  up  his  hands  above  his  head,  he  cried  three  times, 
"  Mercy,  mercy,  mercy  I"  adding,  that  he  did  it  to  show 
that  it  was  alone  the  mercy  of  God  to  which  he  had  recourse. 
He  declared  that  his  faith  was  altogether  founded  on  the 
goodness  of  God  in  Jesus  Christ,  who  by  the  Father  had  been 
made  unto  him,  as  to  all  others  that  believed  in  him,  wisdom, 
righteousness,  sanctification,  and  redemption.  "  Away,"  said 
he,  "  with  all  merit :  I  call  for  nothing  but  mercy,  free  mercy." 
When  one  was  blessing  God  for  giving  him  such  peace  and 


THE   SICK  AND  DYING.  199 

comfort  at  his  end,  he  said,  "I  feel,  I  feel  what  I  speak." 
As  to  his  faith  in  the  truths  of  God,  he  said  "  he  was  en- 
tirely persuaded  thereof  by  the  demonstration  of  God's  Holy 
Spirit,  which  was  more  powerful,  more  clear,  and  more  cer- 
tain than  all  the  demonstrations  of  Euclid."  When  secretly 
praying,  he  was  overheard  saying  in  broken  sentences,  "  I 
fly,  I  fly  to  heaven.  Let  the  angels  carry  me  to  the  bosom 
of  my  Saviour."  Afterwards  he  said,  "  I  know  that  my 
Redeemer  liveth,  and  I  shall  see  him  with  these  eyes :  hisce 
oculis  f  which  words  he  repeated  four  or  five  times. 

46.  Jerome  of  Prague,  when  he  was  fastened  to  the 
stake,  and  the  executioner  began  to  kindle  the  fire  behind 
him,  bade  him  kindle  it  before  his  face  ;  "For,"  said  he,  "if 
I  had  been  afraid  of  it,  I  had  not  come  to  this  place,  having 
had  so  many  opportunities  oflered  me  to  escape  it." 

47.  Mr.  Hooker,  a  minister  in  New  England,  when  one^ 
that  stood  weeping  at  his  bedside  as  he  lay  dying,  said  to 
him,  "  Sir,  you  are  going  to  receive  the  reward  of  all  your 
labors;"  replied,  "Brother,  I  am  going  to  receive  mercy." 

48.  Mr.  Heron,  another  minister  there,  dying  and  leav- 
ing a  family  of  many  small  children,  his  poor  wife  fell  a 
weeping,  and  said,  "  Alas,  what  will  become  of  all  these 
children?"  He  pleasantly  replied,  "Never  fear;  He  that 
feeds  the  young  ravens,  will  not  starve  the  young  Herons." 
Which  afterwards  came  to  pass  accordingly.  It  was  an 
ancient  observation  concerning  the  English  martyrs  under 
the  bloody  Marian  persecution,  that  "  none  of  them  went 
more  joyfully  to  the  stake,  than  those  who  had  the  greatest 
families  to  commit  unto  the  Lord." 

49.  Chrysostom,  when  the  empress  Eudoxa,  an  Arian, 
sent  a  threatening  message  to  him,  said,  "  Go  tell  her,  Nil 
nisi  peccatum  timeo,  I  fear  nothing  but  sin."  When  he 
was  sentenced  to  banishment,  he  said,  "  None  of  these  things 
trouble  me  ;  for  I  said  before  within  myself,  If  the  empress 
will,  let  her  banish  me  ;  the  earth  is  the  Lord's,  and  the  ful- 


200  AFFLICTEli  MAN'S   COxMPANiON. 

ness  thereof.  If  she  will,  let  her  saw  ine  asunder ;  Isaiah 
was  so  used.  If  she  will,  let  her  cast  me  into  the  sea ;  I 
will  rememher  Jonah.  If  she  will,  let  her  cast  me  into  a 
burning  fiery  furnace,  or  to  the  wild  beasts  ;  the  three  chil- 
dren and  Daniel  were  so  served.  If  she  will,  let  her  stone 
me,  or  cut  off  my  head ;  I  have  St.  Stephen  and  the  Baptist 
for  my  companions.  If  she  will,  let  her  take  away  all  my 
substance  ;  naked  came  I  out  of  my  mother's  womb,  and 
naked  shall  I  return  thither  again." 

But  I  must  break  off,  for  the  time  would  fail  me  to  enu- 
merate the  many  instances  of  the  faith,  love,  patience,  hope, 
courage,  and  constancy  of  the  saints  and  martyrs  of  Jesus, 
when  in  the  view  of  death.  Some  have  told  the  persecu- 
tors that  "  they  might  pull  their  hearts  out  of  their  bodies, 
but  they  could  never  pluck  the  truth  out  of  their  hearts." 
Others  have  said,  that  "  if  every  hair  of  their  heads  were 
men,  they  should  suffer  death  for  Christ  and  his  truths." 
"Oh,"  said  one  of  them,  "can  I  die  but  once  for  Christ?" 

Let  these  examples  prompt  us  to  seek  grace  from  God, 
and  make  it  our  earnest  study  to  imitate  and  follow  such  a 
cloud  of  witnesses,  that  we  may  die  martyrs  in  resolution ; 
that  our  graces  may  be  most  lively  at  the  last,  our  evening 
sun  may  shine  brightest,  and  we  may  go  off  the  stage  glori- 
fying God,  and  leaving  a  sweet  savor  behind  us,  as  these 
famous  worthies,  whose  praise  is  in  the  churches,  have  done 
before  us.  * 

Direction  7.    Let  dying  persons  be  much  in  prayer  and  ejacu- 
lations to  God, 

Prayer  is  the  native  breath  of  renewed  souls  ;  it  is  as 
necessary  to  their  spiritual  life,  as  breath  is  to  the  natural 
life.  "Hide  not  thine  ear  at  my  breathing."  Lam.  3  :  56, 
The  first  thing  a  child  of  God  doth,  when  he  is  new-born,  is 
to  breathe  by  prayer.  "Behold,  he  prayeth."  Acts  9  :  11, 
And  it  is  also  his  last  work  in  the  world  to  pray,  "  And 
they  stoned  Stephen,  calling  upon  God,  and  saying.  Lord 


THE   SICK  AND  DYINa.  201 

Jesus,  receive  my  spirit.  And  he  kneeled  down,  and  cried 
with  a  loud  voice,  Lord,  lay  not  this  sin  to  their  charge. 
And  when  he  had  said  this,  he  fell  asleep."  Acts  7  :  59,  60. 
A  dying  Christian  hath  many  to  pray  for  :  he  is  to  pray  for 
the  church  of  God,  for  his  friends  and  relations,  and  also  for 
his  enemies,  as  Stephen  did.  But  especially  he  must  pray 
for  himself,  that  sin  may  be  forgiven,  and  that  he  may  have 
a  safe  conduct  through  the  dark  valley.  I  have  heard  of 
some  that  have  been  found  dead  upon  their  knees ;  a  noble 
posture  to  die  in.  How  suitable  is  it  to  enter  praying  into 
the  land  of  praise.  So  did  Stephen:  yea,  so  did  our  blessed 
Saviour  himself:  "Father,  forgive  them,  for  they  know  not 
what  they  do.  Father,  into  thy  hands  I  commend  my 
spirit."  The  last  words  that  holy  Usher  uttered  were, 
**  But,  Lord,  in  a  special  manner  forgive  my  sins  of  omis- 
sion." "Lord,"  said  dying  Beza,  "perfect  that  which  thou 
hast  begun ;  that  I  suffer  not  shipwreck  in  the  haven."  I 
remember  to  have  read  of  an  old  minister  who,  when  he 
found  death  approaching,  said,  "  I  desire  to  die  like  the  poor 
thief,  crying  to  the  crucified  Jesus  for  mercy.  I  am  nothing, 
I  can  do  nothing,  except  what  is  unworthy.  My  eye  and 
hope  and  faith  is  to  Christ  on  his  cross.  I  bring  an  un- 
worthiness  like  that  of  the  poor  dying  thief  unto  him,  and 
have  no  more  to  plead  than  he.  Like  the  poor  thief  cruci- 
fied with  him,  I  am  waiting  to  be  received  by  the  infinite 
grace  of  my  Lord,  into  his  kingdom."  Let  us  in  like  man- 
ner die,  crying  to  a  crucified  Jesus  for  mercy:  "Lord,  re- 
member me,  now  thou  art  in  thy  kingdom." 

0,  dying  Christians,  remember,  the  time  of  prayer  is 
near  an  end ;  after  death  there  will  be  no  more  occasion  for 
prayer.  0,  then,  beg  that  the  Spirit  of  prayer  may  be  so 
poured  down  upon  you  at  this  time,  that  you  may  be  enabled 
to  pour  out  your  heart  before  God,  both  for  yourself  and  oth- 
ers. 0  how  earnestly  should  you  pray  then,  when  you  are 
taking  your  leave  of  prayer.     Mind  the  example  which  your 

9*^ 


202  AFFLICTED  MAN'S   COMPANION. 

Redeemer  gave  you  ;  it  was  before  his  death  that  he  offered 
up  prayers  and  supplications  with  strong  crying  and  tears 
unto  God.  I  acknowledge  sick  and  dying  persons  are  fre- 
quently out  of  case  for  making  prayers  of  any  great  length 
or  continuance ;  which  consideration  should  excite  us  to  the 
greater  diligence  in  prayer  in  time  of  health,  and  therefore 
they  ought  to  be  the  more  frequent  and  fervent,  in  short  and 
suitable  ejaculations  to  God,  as  their  exigencies  do  require. 

MEDITATIONS  AND  EJACULATIONS  PROPER  FOR  A  SICK  AND  DYING 
PERSON,  AND  ESPECIALLY  FOR  A  DYING  BELIEVER. 

0  Lord,  thou  art  the  God  of  my  life,  and  hast  the  keys 
of  death  in  thy  hand.  Thou  hast  ptieasured  the  length  of 
my  life,  and  appointed  the  hour  of  my  death.  The  number 
of  my  months  and  days  is  with  thee,  and  thou  hast  appointed 
the  bounds  over  which  I  cannot  pass. 

What  is  my  life  but  a  vapor,  that  appeareth  for  a  little 
time  and  then  vanisheth  away  ?  At  the  longest,  how  short 
is  it;  and  at  the  strongest,  how  weak.  "What  man  is  it 
that  liveth  here,  and  shall  not  see  death?  When  a  few 
days  are  come,  I  shall  go  the  way  whence  I  shall  not  re- 
turn." God  hath  decreed  it,  sin  hath  deserved  it,  my  frailty 
demonstrates  it,  death's  harbingers  proclaim  it,  and  I  must 
expect  it. 

There  is  no  discharge  in  this  war,  no  exemption  from 
death's  stroke.  Death's  messengers  are  come  to  warn  me 
that  my  last  day  and  last  hour  draweth  nigh.  The  sound 
of  their  Master's  feet  is  behind  them.  This  clay-house  must 
be  dissolved,  my  soul  dislodged,  and  my  place  here  shall 
know  me  no  more ;  I  shall  soon  be  as  water  spilt  on  the 
ground,  that  cannot  be  gathered  up  again. 

0  that  I  may  be  suitably  exercised  in  my  present  weak 
and  dying  condition.  When  my  flesh  faileth,  and  my  heart 
fainteth  within  me,  0  that  God  may  be  the  strength  of  my 
heart  and  my  portion  for  ever.     When  the  keepers  of  the 


THE   SICK  AND  DYlNa.  203 

house  do  tremble,  let  God  watch  over  it,  and  be  the  keeper 
of  my  soul.  When  the  grinders  cease,  because  they  are  few, 
let  my  soul  be  fed  with  manna  from  heaven.  When  the 
daughters  of  music  are  brought  low,  let  my  soul  be  disposed 
for  hearing  the  song  of  Moses  and  the  Lamb,  in  the  temple 
above.  When  those  that  look  out  at  the  windows  are  dark- 
ened, let  the  eyes  of  my  soul  be  enlightened  to  behold,  with 
the  dying  martyr  Stephen,  the  heavens  opened,  and  the  glo- 
rious Jesus  standing  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  making  inter- 
cession for  me  and  ready  to  receive  me.  Let  my  hope  and 
desire  look  out  at  the  windows,  and  say,  "Why  is  his  chariot 
so  long  in  coming ;  and  why  tarry  the  wheels  of  his  chariot  ? 
Make  haste,  my  Beloved,  and  be  thou  like  a  roe  or  a  young 
hart  on  the  mountains  of  Bether." 

0  that  I  may  observe  the  afflicting  hand  of  God  in  my 
present  sickness.  Surely  affliction  cometh  not  out  of  the 
dust,  nor  doth  trouble  spring  out  of  the  ground.  0  Lord, 
rebuke  me  not  in  thy  indignation,  nor  chasten  me  in  thy  hot 
displeasure.  Have  mercy  on  me,  0  Lord,  for  I  am  weak; 
and  heal  me,  for  my  bones  are  vexed.  When  thou  with  re- 
bukes dost  correct  man  for  iniquity,  thou  makest  his  beauty 
to  consume  away  like  a  moth ;  surely  every  man  is  vanity. 
The  sorrows  of  my  heart  are  enlarged  ;  0  bring  me  out  of 
my  distresses.  Look  upon  my  affliction  and  my  pain,  and 
forgive  all  my  sin.  I  look  for  sympathy  to  my  great  High- 
priest,  who  is  touched  with  the  feeling  of  my  infirmities. 
My  help  and  strength  is  in  him. 

0  that  when  I  am  afflicted,  I  may  not  despise  the  chas- 
tening of  the  Lord,  nor  faint  when  I  am  rebuked  of  him. 
Let  me  hear  the  rod,  and  him  that  hath  appointed  it.  Let 
me  kiss  the  rod,  and  accept  of  the  punishment  of  mine  in- 
iquity. 0  that  in  my  affliction  I  may  be  helped  to  humble 
myself  greatly  before  the  God  of  my  fathers,  and  make  a  true 
and  penitent  confession  of  my  sins. 

Oh,  what  shall  I  say  to  thee,  0  thou  Preserver  of  men  ? 


204  AFFLICTED  MAN'S   COMPANION. 

I  will  say,  Lord,  be  merciful  to  me :  heal  my  soul,  for  I  have 
sinned  against  thee.  I  acknowledge  that  through  an  evil 
heart  of  unbelief,  I  have  many  a  time  departed  away  from 
the  living  God.  0  how  vainly  and  foolishly  have  I  lived  in 
the  world.  How  lavish  of  my  precious  time.  How  un- 
mindful of  my  latter  end.  How  careless  of  my  immortal 
soul.  How  little  in  preparation  for  eternity.  Oh,  my  own 
heart  condemns  me,  my  sins  testify  against  me;  and  thou 
who  knowest  them  better  than  I  do  myself,  together  with 
their  several  aggravations,  mightest  justly  condemn  me  too. 
But  my  comfort  is,  that  with  thee  the  Lord  there  is  mercy, 
that  thou  mayest  be  feared ;  and  with  thy  Son  there  is  plen- 
teous redemption;  wherefore,  for  his  sake  be  pleased  to  for- 
give me  all  my  past  transgressions,  whether  in  thought, 
word,  or  deed — those  that  I  remember,  and  those  that  I 
have  forgotten — and  let  them  never  be  charged  on  me  to 
my  shame  and  confusion  in  this  world,  nor  to  my  everlasting 
ruin  in  that  which  is  to  come.  Lord,  forgive  the  follies  of 
my  childhood,  the  extravagances  of  my  youth,  and  all  the 
iniquities  of  my  riper  years. 

Oh,  I  am  polluted  with  sin,  and  dare  not  appear  before 
God  with  my  own  filthy  rags  upon  me.  When  Adam  lost 
his  original  righteousness,  he  fled  from  God,  and  dreaded 
the  summons  of  offended  justice.  Now,  there  is  no  appear- 
ing before  God  with  acceptance,  but  in  the  garment  of  his 
Son  my  elder  brother.  None  can  have  boldness  to  enter 
into  the  holiest  of  all,  but  by  the  blood  of  Jesus.  0  enable 
me  to  disclaim  whatever  duties  I  have  performed,  or  graces 
I  have  exercised,  and  to  rely  on  a  crucified  Christ  alone  for 
pardon  and  life.  Though  thou  slayest  me,  let  me  die  trust- 
ing in  arid  cleaving  to  a  crucified  Jesus. 

Now  the  powers  of  darkness  will  seek  to  raise  a  tem- 
pest to  shipwreck  the  vessel  of  my  soul,  when  it  would 
enter  into  the  eternal  haven.  0  that,  hke  the  wise  mariner 
when  the  storm  approacheth,  I  may  endeavor  to  secure  the 


THE    SICK  AND  DYING-.  205 

vessel  with  the  anchors  of  faith  and  hope  fastened  on  the 
Rock  Christ. 

0  that,  when  the  time  of  conAat  with  my  last  enemy 
eometh,  I  may,  above  all,  take  the  shield  of  faith,  whereby 
I  may  be  sheltered  from  the  sting  of  death,  and  may  quench 
the  fiery  darts  of  the  wicked  one. 

0  that  the  Lord  of  hosts,  the  Captain  of  my  salvation, 
may  be  with  me  in  my  last  conflict,  and  may  help  me  to 
put  on  the  whole  armor  of  God,  and  give  me  skill  to  use  it, 
that  I  may  be  able  to  stand  in  the  evil  day.  Teach  my 
hands  to  war  and  my  fingers  to  fight,  that  through  thee 
I  may  do  valiantly,  and  tread  down  all  my  enemies.  0 
that  now  I  may  finish  my  course,  and  fight  the  good  fight 
of  faith,  that  at  death  I  may  receive  the  crown  of  righteous- 
ness, which  the  righteous  Judge  will  give  to  all  that  love 
his  appearing.  0  that  my  faith  may  ripen  into  a  full  assur- 
ance, that  I  may  go  ofi'the  stage  with  joy,  and  an  abundant 
entrance  may  be  administered  unto  me  into  the  kingdom  of 
my  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ. 

0  that  the  night  of  my  death  may  shine  bright  with  the 
sparkling  stars  of  heavenly  graces.  Lord,  increase  my 
faith.  Let  the  pilgrim's  staff"  of  faith  be  never  out  of  ray 
hand  till  I  come  to  my  journey's  end.  0  let  me  get  Christ 
all  in  my  arms,  like  old  Simeon  before  his  death,  that  I  may 
say,  hke  him,  "  Now  let  thy  servant  depart  in  peace  ;  for  my 
eyes  have  seen  thy  salvation."  Kindle  the  fire  of  heavenly 
love  in  my  soul,  and  give  me  a  taste  of  heavenly  joys.  0 
for  one  beam  of  thy  light,  to  banish  away  all  my  doubts  and 
fears.  Lord,  let  in  something  of  heaven  to  my  soul,  before 
itself  go  into  heaven. 

Lord,  take  me  not  out  of  this  life  till  thou  hast  fitted  me 
for  a  better.  May  I  be  fitted  for  heaven  before  I  leave  the 
earth,  and  finish  my  work  before  I  finish  my  course.  Make 
me  ready  to  meet  thee  at  thy  coming,  that  so  thy  coming 
may  not  be  the  matter  of  my  terror,  but  the  matter  of  my 


206  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

hope,  desire,  and  expectation.  0  that  I  may  be  in  a  longing 
frame  for  that  blessed  time,  when  he  will  come  and  put  a 
period  to  all  my  sins,  sorrows,  troubles,  and  temptations 
here ;  and  when  I  shall  exchange  my  present  being  in  the 
body,  for  an  everlasting  being  with  the  Lord.  Lord, 
strengthen  my  faith  and  hope,  so  that  neither  the  sweetness 
of  life,  the  pain  of  death,  nor  apprehensions  about  my  future 
state,  may  make  me  unwilling  to  die.  Is  my  Redeemer 
ascended,  and  gone  before  me  to  prepare  a  place  for  me  ? 
Why  then  should  I  be  slothful  to  go  in  and  possess  the 
good  land  ? 

Mercy  hath  filled  up  all  my  life,  and  brought  me  near  to 
the  end  of  it.  0  let  it  not  leave  me  now,  when  all  the 
enjoyments  of  the  world  are  nothing  to  me,  and  I  am  to 
take  an  everlasting  farewell  of  them  all.  Now  one  smile  of 
thy  face,  one  taste  of  thy  love,  would  be  strength  and  joy  to 
my  departing  soul.  0  remember  the  word  to  thy  servant, 
upon  which  thou  hast  caused  me  to  hope  :  hast  thou  not 
said,  "  I  will  never  leave  thee,  nor  forsake  thee  ?"  0  fulfil 
this  word  to  me  in  the  time  of  my  need :  0  let  me  never  go 
off  the  stage  with  a  heavy  heart,  or  a  guilty  conscience;  but 
may  I  depart  in  peace,  and  sleep  in  Jesus.  Let  me  breathe 
out  my  departing  soul  to  thee,  and  trust  it  in  thy  hand  and 
safe-keeping ;  and  let  my  flesh  rest  in  hopes  of  rising  glori- 
ously at  the  last  day,  through  him  who  is  the  resurrection 
and  the  life,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

Love  and  praise  is  the  exercise  of  saints  for  ever ;  may  I 
be  acquainted  with  it  here.  0  shall  I  not  love  and  praise 
him,  who  hath  forgiven  all  mine  iniquities,  healed  all  my 
diseases,  redeemed  my  life  from  destruction,  and  crowned 
me  with  loving-kindness  and  tender  mercies  ?  He  hath 
caused  goodness  and  mercy  to  follow  me  all  the  days  of  my 
life ;  and  shall  I  not  follow  him  with  praises  at  the  end 
of  it? 

Now  the  time  of  my  departure  is  at  hand,  and  the  lamp 


THE   SICK  AND  DYINa.  207 

of  life  is  ready  to  be  extinguished.  0  that  I  may  die  in 
faith,  that  whether  the  lamp  go  out  of  its  own  accord,  or  by 
some  sudden  blast,  it  may  be  lighted  again  by  the  immortal 
beams  of  the  Sun  of  righteousness.  And  though  I  be  over- 
taken by  the  sleep  of  death  and  lie  down  in  the  bed  of  the 
grave,  yet  shall  I  awake  again  in  the  morning  of  the 
resurrection,  that  morning  which  shall  never  be  succeeded 
by  an  evening  ;  when  I  shall  behold  thy  face  in  righteous- 
ness, and  be  eternally  satisfied  with  thy  likeness. 

Now  I  am  going  the  way  of  all  the  earth,  ready  to 
launch  forth  into  eternity,  where  I  shall  be  fixed  in  my 
everlasting  condition.  Grant  me.  Lord,  the  perfect  use  of 
my  senses,  of  my  understanding  and  reason,  that  I  may 
glorify  thy  name  and  edify  my  neighbors  to  the  last  moment 
of  my  departure ;  and  now,  when  I  am  to  conflict  with  the 
king  of  terrors,  0  support  and  assist  me  in  my  sorest 
.  extremities  and  last  agonies.  0  mercifully  mitigate  death's 
pangs,  and  let  my  passage  be  easy  and  ray  landing  safe. 
Stand  by  me  in  my  dying  moments,  and  secure  my  soul  in 
thy  hands  from  all  its  deadly  enemies ;  and  when  I  am 
numbered  among  the  dead,  let  me  also  be  numbered  among 
the  redeemed  and  blessed  of  the  Lord  for  ever. 

0  Lord,  thou  determinest  both  the  bounds  of  man's  life 
and  the  bounds  of  his  habitation.  If  a  hair  of  my  head  can- 
not fall  to  the  ground  without  thy  providence,  far  less  can 
my  whole  body  fall  into  the  grave  without  it.  Thou  hast 
told  me  plainly  that  I  must  die,  but  mercifully  hast  con- 
cealed the  time,  place,  and  manner,  that  I  might  always 
stand  upon  my  guard,  every  hour  expect  thy  coming,  and 
have  my  accounts  in  my  hand,  always  prepared  to  give 
them  up  to  thee  my  Judge.  Justly  mightest  thou  have 
snatched  me  away  by  a  surprising  call  and  sudden  stroke ; 
but  in  thy  goodness  thou  givest  me  warning,  and  time  to 
set  my  house  and  soul  in  order.  0  graciously  finish  what 
is  now  wanting  of*  the  work  of  thy  grace  in  my  heart  and 


208  AFFLICTED  MAN^S  COMPANION. 

soul,  and  thoroughly  accomplish  and  furnish  me  to  appear 
in  thy  blessed  presence.  May  I  now  die  to  sin  every  hour, 
that  I  may  not  die  for  sin  hereafter.  Cause  sin  wholly  to 
die  before  me,  that  it  may  not  rise  in  judgment  against  me 
after  death. 

0  God,  be  thou  my  refuge  and  strength,  and  a  very 
present  help  in  trouble  ;  and  then  I  will  not  fear  though  the 
waters  of  affliction  rage  and  be  troubled,  and  though  all  the 
mountains  of  earthly  comforts  shake  with  the  swelling 
thereof  There  is  a  river,  the  streams  whereof  shall  make 
glad  the  city  of  God.  0  let  my  soul  dwell  beside  those 
living  streams,  and  drink  of  them  for  ever.  In  the  valley  of 
the  shadow  of  death.  Lord,  be  thou  present  as  the  good 
Shepherd,  with  thy  guiding  rod  and  supporting  staff;  and 
make  my  departure  easy  and  full  of  peace  and  hope. 
Lord,  carry  me  safe  through  the  dark  passage  upon  which 
I  am  entering,  and  let  me  find  it  a  gate  of  glory,  a  door 
opened  into  the  everlasting  kingdom  and  joy  of  the  Lord. 
Lord  Jesus,  receive  my  spirit,  and  let  it  be  presented,  justified 
and  spotless,  to  the  Father,  that  it  may  come  to  the  spirits 
of  just  men  made  perfect,  and  join  with  them  in  singing  the 
new  song,  "  Worthy  is  the  Lamb  that  was  slain,  and  hath 
redeemed  us  to  God  by  his  blood,  to  receive  power,  honor, 
glory,  and  blessing  for  ever.     Amen." 

MEDITATIONS  FOR  DROOPING  BELIEVERS  WHEN  DEATH  IS  NEAR. 

Travellers  who  have  met  with  many  storms,  troubles, 
and  dangers  in  their  journeys,  rejoice  when  they  come  near 
to  their  own  country  ;  and  shall  not  I,  a  stranger  and  pil- 
grim, that  have  been  long  wandering  in  a  wilderness,  be 
glad  when  I  come  near  my  blessed  home,  my  dear  friends, 
and  eternal  habitation  ? 

With  what  cheerfulness  do  some  women  endure  the 
pains  of  childbearing,  being  supported  by  the  hope  of  a 
child's  being  born  into  the  world.     And  what  is  the  joy  of 


THE   CJIGK  AND   LTINCt.  209 

a  man-child  being  brought  into  this  sinful  and  miserable 
world,  to  the  joy  of  a  sanctified  soul's  being  brought  out  of 
it  into  heaven  for  ever  ?  It  is  pleasant  when  the  hard 
winter  goeth  over,  and  the  time  of  the  singing  of  birds,  the 
messengers  of  spring,  doth  come;  and  shall  not  I  rejoice 
when  sickness  and  forerunners  of  death  do  tell  me  that  the 
winter  of  my  darkness  and  trouble  is  past,  and  the  summer 
of  my  eternal  light  and  joys  is  at  hand  ? 

What  though  death  be  the  king  of  terrors,  is  not  glorious 
Christ  the  King  of  comforts  ?  Have  not  I  met  already  with 
this  blessed  King ;  and  why  should  I  fear  to  meet  with  the 
other  ?  Oh  let  my  strength  and  support  at  this  time  come 
from  Christ,  my  covenanted  Redeemer. 

0  Lord,  deliver  my  soul  from  death,  mine  eyes  from 
tears,  and  my  feet  from  falling.  0  bring  me  out  of  the  miry 
clay,  set  my  feet  upon  a  rock,  and  establish  my  goings,  and 
put  a  new  song  in  my  mouth,  even  praises  to  our  God. 

If  Jacob  went  down  so  cheerfully  into  Egypt  when  God 
had  said  unto  him,  "  Fear  not  to  go  down,  for  I  will  go  down 
with  thee,  and  I  will  bring  thee  up  again,"  why  should  a 
believer  fear  to  go  down  to  the  grave,  when  God  hath  un- 
dertaken to  go  down  with  him  thither  and  to  bring  him  up 
again  ?  His  body  may  be  turned  into  dust,  but  God  is  in 
covenant  with. his  dust,  and  will  not  suffer  the  least  particle 
of  it  to  be  lost. 

Are  not  the  righteous  taken  away  from  the  evil  to  come  ? 
Do  they  not  rest  in  their  beds  and  enter  into  peace  ?  Why 
then  should  I  shrink  from  dying  ?  When  the  Lord  is  to 
bring  heavy  wrath  and  judgments  upon  a  land,  he  frequently 
houses  many  of  his  people  in  heaven  beforehand ;  and  how 
happy  are  those  that  win  the  house  before  the  sweeping 
hail-shower  doth  fall  A  believer  needeth  not  to  look  for 
any  settled  fair  weather  in  this  world  :  it  will  be  nothing 
but  one  shower  up  and  another  down,  till  he  be  housed  in 
heaven.     Oh  why,  then,  should  I  linger  in  this  wilderness  ? 


210  AFFLICTED  MAN'S   COMPANION. 

How  highly  honored  is  the  believer  in  being  made  an 
heir  of  God,  and  a  joint-heir  with  his  own  Son  Jesus  Christ; 
so  that  Christ  and  the  believer  do,  as  it  were,  divide  heaven 
between  them  :  they  have  the  same  Father,  dwell  in  the 
same  house,  sit  at  the  same  table,  reign  on  the  same  throne, 
and  partake, of  the  same  glory.  Oh  what  honor  is  this 
which  is  put  on  a  worm  of  the  earth.  It  is  indeed  but  little 
that  the  young  heir  enjoys  of  the  inheritance  while  in  this 
world ;  no  more  than  will  serve  to  bear  his  charges  to 
heaven,  where  he  shall  get  all,  forget  his  present  straits,  and 
remember  his  poverty  no  more.  Oh  why  then  should  not 
I,  like  a  young  heir,  be  looking  and  longing  for  the  expiring 
of  my  minority,  when  I  shall  arrive  at  ripe  age,  and  enter 
upon  the  full  possession  of  the  inheritance  ?  Oh  that  I  could 
send  out  faith  and  hope,  those  two  faithful  spies,  to  survey 
the  promised  land,  or  at  least  to  visit  the  borders  of  my  elder 
Brother's  country  ;  what  an  encouraging  report  would  they 
bring  back  I  My  glorious  Lord  is  gone ;  he  hath  left  the 
earth,  and  entered  into  his  glory ;  my  brethren  and  friends 
have  many  of  them  arrived  there  also.  How  great  is  the 
difference  between  my  state  and  theirs.  I  am  groaning  out 
my  complaints,  but  they  are  singing  God's  praise.  I  am  in 
darkness,  and  cannot  see  God,  but  they  are  in  light,  and  see 
him  face  to  face.  0  my  Lord,  shall  I  stay  behind  when 
they  are  gone  ?  Should  I  be  satisfied  to  wander  in  the  wil- 
derness, far  distant  from  my  Father  and  my  God,  when  they 
are  triumphing  above,  dividing  the  spoil  ?  No ;  I  will  look 
still  after  them  with  a  steadfast  eye,  and  cry,  0  Lord,  how 
long  ?  I  will  wait  now  in  hope,  yea,  rejoice  in  the  forethoughts 
of  the  day  when  my  minority  shall  be  expired,  my  pilgrim- 
age finished,  my  banishment  over,  that  I  may  get  home  to 
my  country  and  friends  above. 

What  though  my  days  be  dark  and  gloomy  now,  my 
winter  be  sharp  and  stormy  :  why,  it  is  but  short,  and  nearly 
over ;  the  eternal  summer  approacheth  ;  the  long  day,  the 


THE   SICK  AND  DYINa.  211 

high  sun,  and  the  fair  garden  of  my  well-beloved  above  these 
visible  heavens,  will  quickly  make  amends  for  all.  Let  me 
get  up  by  faith  and  visit  the  new  land,  view  the  fair  city,  and 
behold  the  white  throne,  and  the  Lamb  that  sits  thereon, 
that  I  may  rejoice  in  hope  of  the  glory  of  God. 

Shall  many  of  the  heirs  of  wrath  go  singing  and  rejoicing 
to  hell ;  and  will  an  heir  of  God  go  drooping  and  sorrowing 
to  heaven  ?  Oh,  let  me  not,  by  my  behavior  on  a  death- 
bed, bring  up  a  bad  report  upon  Christ's  good  way  and  the 
land  which  he  hath  purchased. 

Have  I  such  great  and  precious  promises  left  me,  and 
shall  I  not  live  and  feed  upon  them  in  time  of  my  need  ? 
Shall  I  not  trust  the  word  of  Him  that  is  faithful  and  true  ? 
Hath  he  not  said  to  me,  "  When  thou  passest  through  the 
waters,  I  will  be  with  thee  ;  and  through  the  rivers,  they 
shall  not  overflow  thee  :  when  thou  walkest  through  the 
fire,  thou  shalt  not  be  burnt,  neither  shall  the  flame  kindle 
upon  thee  ?"  When  the  disciples  were  sore  tossed  with 
winds  and  waves,  thou  camest  to  them  in  the  fourth  watch 
of  the  night,  walking  on  the  waters ;  and  when  their  fears 
were  increased,  thou  saidst,  "It  is  I ;  be  not  afraid."  Thou 
rebukedst  the  winds,  and  there  presently  followed  a  great 
calm.  My  Redeemer's  compassions  continue  ;  his  bowels 
of  mercy  still  yearn  over  our  sorrows,  as  in  the  days  of  his 
flesh.  "Jesus  Christ  is  the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  for 
ever." 

Ah,  I  have  too  little  improved  my  acquaintance  with 
precious  Christ  in  the  day  of  my  life  ;  how  ready  am  I  to 
mistake  him  when  he  changeth  his  dispensations  towards 
me.  Though  I  have  been  long  at  Christ's  school,  what 
small  proficiency  have  I  made  in  the  work  and  mystery  of 
faith.  How  little  have  I  learned  to  believe  in  the  dark,  and 
to  drop  anchor  at  midnight  upon  the  Rock  of  ages,  and  to 
look  out  for  the  dawning  of  the  day. 

Surely  the  day  shall  break,  and  the  shadows  flee  away ; 


212  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

my  King  cometh  ;  my  well-beloved  is  on  his  way  ;  he  hath 
sent  his  letter  before  him  to  warn  me  of  it,  saying,  "  Behold, 
I  come  quickly."  Oh  that  like  the  cold  and  wearied  night- 
watchman,  I  may  be  looking  out  for  the  appearing  of  the 
morning-star  and  the  breaking  of  the  eastern  sky ;  and  may 
be  ever,  crying,  "  Even  so,  come.  Lord  Jesus,  come  quickly." 

Thou  hast  said,  "Light  is  sown  for  the  righteous,  and 
gladness  for  the  upright  in  heart."  Surely  God's  seed  shall 
not  lie  always  beneath  the  clods ;  the  time  is  at  hand  when 
it  shall  spring,  and  joyful  will  the  crop  be  at  last.  Oh  that 
like  David  in  affliction,  I  could  encourage  myself  in  the  Lord 
my  God,  and  say,  "  The  Lord  liveth,  blessed  be  my  Rock." 
Why  should  I  droop  while  my  Lord  liveth,  and  my  Rock 
standeth»?  My  hopes  may  die,  my  comforts  may  die,  my 
gifts  die,  my  riches  die,  my  relations  die,  my  body  die ;  but, 
good  news,  "  The  Lord  liveth,  blessed  be  my  Rock."  The 
disciples  had  a  melancholy  tale  while  Christ  was  dead  and 
lying  in  the  grave ;  but  that  sad  time  is  over :  he  is  now 
risen,  and  will  die  no  more.  Nay,  he  hath  proclaimed  it 
for  my  comfort,  saying,  "Fear  not;  I  am  the  first  and  the 
last,  I  am  he  that  liveth,  and  was  dead,  and  behold,  I  am 
alive  for  evermore,  Amen ;  and  have  the  keys  of  hell  and 
of  death." 

When  my  soul  is  cast  down  within  me,  let  me  remember 
God  from  the  land  -of  Jordan  and  the  hill  Mizar,  that  I 
may  reason  myself  out  of  all  my  fears  and  discouragements ; 
for  yet  "  the  Lord  will  command  his  loving-kindness  in  the 
daytime,  and  in  the  night  his  song  shall  be  with  me,  and 
my  prayer  to  the  God  of  my  life." 

"  Why  then  art  thou  cast  down,  0  my  soul ;  and  why 
art  thou  disquieted  within  me  ?  hope  thou  in  God,  for  I 
shall  yet  praise  him,  who  is  the  health  of  my  countenance 
and  my  God." 

Now,  when  death  is  at  hand,  let  not  my  Saviour  be  afar 
off     He  who  remembered  the  dying  thief,  and  spoke  com- 


THE   SICK  AND  DYIXa.  213 

fortably  to  him,  let  him  now  remember  me  when  he  is  seated 
in  his  kingdom,  and  say  to  my  soul,  "  This  day  thou  shalt 
be  with  me  in  paradise."  When  it  is  absent  from  the  body, 
let  it  be  present  with  the  Lord.  Let  the  angels  now  be 
ready  to  do  their  office,  to  carry  my  departing  soul  into 
Abraham's  bosom.  Let  me  now  depart,  that  I  may  be  with 
Christ ;  yea,  be  for  ever  with  the  Lord,  that  I  may  see  his 
face.  Let  mc  dwell  there,  where  they  have  no  night,  need 
no  candle,  nor  light  of  the  sun  for  ever — where  God  shall 
wipe  away  all  tears  from  their  eyes,  and  there  shall  be  no 
more  death,  neither  sorrow  nor  crying. 

Father,  into  thy  hands  I  commit  my  spirit.  By  the 
hands  of  Him  who  hath  redeemed  it,  let  it  be  presented  to 
thee  without  spot  or  wrinkle,  or  any  such  thing. 

ADDITIONAL  MEDITATIONS  PROPER  FOR  ANY  SICK  PERSON  IN  THE 
VIEW  OF  DEATH. 

The. Lord  is  pleased  sometimes  to  cast  men  down  on 
beds  of  sickness,  and  draw  the  curtain  between  the  world 
and  them,  that  they  may  take  a  view  of  their  past  life  and 
future  state.  Now  it  is  time  for  me  to  look  into  my  soul, 
and  examine  my  state.  Oh,  how  many  do  miss  salvation, 
when  they  think  themselves  sure  of  it.  They  mistake  a 
form  of  godliness  for  the  power  of  it,  and  thereby  deceive 
themselves,  thinking  themselves  something  when  they  are 
nothing. 

Some  go  so  far  as  to  shed  tears,  as  Esau  did ;  profess 
fair,  yea,  fight  for  the  Lord,  as  Saul  and  Jehu  did  ;  wish  for 
the  end  of  the  righteous,  as  Balaam  did  ;  desire  God's  people 
to  pray  for  them,  as  Pharaoh  and  Simon  Magus  did ;  walk 
softly  and  mourn  for  fear  of  judgments,  as  Ahab  did  ;  joy  in 
gospel  ordinances  and  reform  in  many  things,  as  Herod  did ; 
prophesy  and  speak  well  of  Christ,  as  Caiaphas  and  Judas 
did  ;  be  convinced  and  tremble  at  hearing  a  sermon,  as  Felix 
did  ;  yea,  seemed  to  taste  the  good  word  of  God  and  the 


214  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

powers  of  the  world  to  come,  as  apostates  have  done  ;  and 
yet  for  all  these  attainments,  remain  strangers  to  the  saving 
work  of  the  Spirit  on  the  heart. 

0  that  the  consideration  of  hypocrites'  attainments  might 
alarm  me  out  of  my  security,  and  make  me  restless  till  I  find 
the  distinguishing  marks  of  true  grace  and  sincere  faith  in 
my  soul.  0  that  I  could  say,  there  is  a  principle  in  me  that 
will  not  sufl'er  me  to  build  on  any  foundation  in  the  world 
but  Christ  and  his  righteousness  ;  that  makes  me  content 
with  Christ,  with  all  his  offices,  with  all  his  precepts,  and 
with  his  very  cross  for  his  sake.  Doth  the  love  of  Christ 
keep  me  back  from  sin  more  than  the  law,  or  fear  of  hell  ? 
Have  I  aimed  at  God's  honor  in  all  my  actions,  civil,  nat- 
ural, and  religious?  Am  I  humble  and  self-denying  as  to 
my  own  wisdom,  will,  credit,  ease,  and  honor,  and  to  all  the 
enjoyments  of  the  world  ?  Am  I  acquainted  with  the  throne 
of  grace,  and  desirous  to  keep  up  a  constant  correspondence 
with  it  ?  0  let  me  not  rest  till  I  perceive  in  my  soul  those 
things  which  accompany  salvation. 

0  how  comforting  would  it  be  to  me  now,  if  I  could  say 
with  good  Hezekiah  in  his  sickness,  "  Remember  now,  0 
Lord,  how  I  have  walked  before  thee  in  truth  and  with  a 
perfect  heart,  and  have  done  that  which  is  good  in  thy 
sight."  0  that  I  could  pray,  and  say,  with  Jesus  my  Sav- 
iour when  in  the  view  of  death,  "Father,  I  have  glorified 
thee  on  the  earth  ;  I  have  finished  the  work  which  thou 
gavest  me  to  do  :  and  now,  0  Father,  glorify  thou  me  with 
thine  own  self,  with  the  glory  which  thou  hast  ordained  for 
me  before  the  world  was." 

Alas,  Lord,  I  must  confess  my  iniquities  have  gone  up 
above  mine  head ;  my  misspent  time,  my  unfruitfulness  under 
the  means  of  grace  and  waterings  of  ordinances,  may  cause 
me  to  cry  out.  Woe  is  me,  for  the  leanness  of  my  soul  and 
barrenness  of  my  heart.  I  have  been  an  empty  vine,  bring- 
ing forth  fruit  only  to  myself;  I  have  hid  my  Lord's  money, 


THE    SICK  AND  DYING.  215 

and  therefore  deserve  the  doom  of  the  wicked  and  slothful 
servant.  But  my  relief  is  in  my  Surety's  righteousness. 
Blessed  be  the  Lord,  who  hath  sent  his  Son  to  bless  those 
who  by  nature  lie  under  the  curse,  and  to  intercede  for  those 
that  cannot  speak  for  themselves.  0  how  suitable  is  he  to 
my  soul's  case.  I  have  indeed  a  multitude  of  sins,  but  he 
hath  a  multitude  of  tender  mercies ;  I  have  deep  and  hein- 
ous guilt,  but  he  hath  a  deep  fountain  for  washing  it  out ;  I 
am  sold  under  sin,  but  he  hath  a  ransom  to  buy  me  back 
again  ;  my  wound  is  great,  but  his  balm  is  excellent.  Surely 
it  is  my  wisdom  to  go  to  Christ  with  all  my  grievances,  and 
always  to  lie  and  cry  at  my  Redeemer's  door. 

0  that  now,  when  the  sun  of  my  life  is  setting,  the 
blessed  Sun  of  righteousness  may  rise  and  shine  upon  my 
soul.  Goodness  and  mercy  have  followed  me  while  I  lived  : 
0  that  Christ  and  glory  may  meet  me  when  I  die.  I  must 
acknowledge  thy  goodness  :  were  this  the  last  hour  I  had  to 
live,  and  this  the  last  word  I  had  to  speak  in  the  world,  I 
might  well  say,  Lord,  thou  hast  been  a  merciful  and  gracious 
God  to  me  ;  my  whole  life  hath  been  a  continued  course  of 
mercy  ;  Lord,  crown  the  end  of  it  with  mercy  also.  Surely 
the  sea  is  not  so  full  of  water,  nor  the  sun  so  full  of  light,  as 
thou  art  full  of  grace  and  mercy.  0  let  not  my  sins  stop  the 
current  of  thy  tender  mercies  at  this  time.  Lord,  drown  all 
my  sins  in  the  sea  of  Christ's  blood,  that  my  soul  may  not  be 
sunk  by  them  in  ^he  ocean  of  divine  wrath.  Lord  Jesus, 
embrace  my  perishing  soul  in  thy  arms  ;  let  thy  cross  be  my 
security,  and  thy  wounds  my  refuge. 

0  thou  who  hearest  the  young  ravens  when  they  cry,  be 
not  silent  to  me  at  this  time,  lest  if  thou  be  silent  to  me,  I 
be  like  to  them  that  go  down  to  the  pit. 

Lord,  I  am  now  called  to  the  work  I  neVer  did  ;  give  me 
the  strength  I  never  had.  Surely  it  is  an  important  matter 
to  die,  and  my  eternal  state  dependeth  upon  dying  aright. 
What  I  do  amiss  in  my  life  one  day,  I  may  amend  in  the 


216  AFFLICTED  MAN'S   COMPANION. 

next ;  but  not  so  here — I  can  die  but  once  :  if  I  mar  this 
piece  of  work,  I  cannot  come  back  to  mend  it  again ;  if  I  for- 
get any  thing  necessary  for  my  journey,  I  cannot  return  to 
get  it.  Oh,  a  wrong  step  in  going  out  of  this  life  is  highly 
dangerous.  In  one  respect  it  is  like  the  sin  against  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  can  never  be  forgiven  ;  for  I  cannot  come  back 
to  mourn  for  it.  Of  all  the  business  I  ever  undertook,  I  have 
most  need  to  take  care  of  my  dying. 

Oh,  is  death  coming  to  take  down  this  earthly  tabernacle, 
and  put  the  one  half  of  me  in  the  dark  grave,  and  the  other 
half  of  me  in  heaven  or  in  hell ;  and  shall  I  give  sleep  to  my 
eyes  and  slumber  to  my  eyelids,  till  I  find  myself  so  pre- 
pared that  I  dare  look  death  in  the  face,  and  dare  hazard  my 
soul  upon  eternity  ? 

0  to  have  right  impressions  of  the  certainty  of  death, 
and  the  uncertainty  of  life.  What  is  my  life  but  a  vapor,  a 
sand-glass  of  sixty  or  seventy  years,  which  will  soon  run  out  ? 
Eternity  and  a  judgment-seat  are  now  hard  upon  me.  The 
blast  of  the  last  trumpet  is  at  hand.  There  will  shortly  be 
a  proclamation  by  one  standing  in  the  clouds,  that  time  shall 
be  no  more.  The  world  looks  big  in  men's  eyes  in  time  of 
health ;  but  when  the  eye  closes,  when  the  breath  departs, 
and  the  imprisoned  soul  is  ready  to  leap  out  into  eternity, 
can  the  world  give  any  satisfaction  ?  No,  no  ;  a  lamp  full 
of  the  oil  of  grace  will  be  valued  more  than  a  house  full  of 
gold.  The  finest  things  on  earth  will  then  appear  nothing 
but  painted  dust  and  gilded  clay.  How  gladly  would  the 
greatest  worldling  then  give  all  his  gold  and  silver,  riches 
and  honors,  for  one  sight  of  Christ's  fair  face,  one  smile  of 
his  countenance.  0  wherefore  should  men  in  health  neglect 
the  market  of  grace,  and  slight  the  pearl  of  great  price? 
Why  should  they  spend  their  money  for  that  which  is  not 
bread,  and  their  labor  for  that  which  satisfieth  not  ? 

Lord,  save  me  from  the  hypocrite's  case  at  death,  whose, 
candle  of  profession  and  of  hope  burns  and  blazes  fair  all  the 


THE   SICK  AND  DYING.  217 

way  with  him,  but  goeth  out  in  the  dark  trance  of  death; 
and  there  he  stumbles  and  falls,  and  shall  rise  no  more.  0 
that  my  profession  and  hope  may  be  of  God's  creating.  If 
God  light  my  candle,  then  shall  my  feet  be  enlightened 
through  the  dark  valley,  and  neither  death  nor  hell  shall  be 
able  to  put  it  out. 

Lord,  subdue  sin  in  me,  and  let  it  be  continually  dying 
now,  that  it  may  certainly  be  dead  before  me.  God  forbid 
that  my  sins  should  survive  me. 

0,  that  when  the  stroke  of  death  dissolves  my  body,  my 
soul  may  escape  as  a  bird  out  of  the  snare  of  the  fowler, 
and  may  ascend  to  the  heavenly  regions  to  enjoy  God  him- 
self. 

0  let  me  look  through  the  gates  of  mortality,  and  long 
for  the  jailer's  coming  to  set  me  at  liberty.  Lord,  help  me 
to  overcome  the  love  of  life  and  the  fear  of  death.  If  my 
neighbor  lend  me  any  thing,  I  pay  it  again  with  thanks ; 
and  shall  I  not  restore  my  life  to  God  with  thanks,  who  hath 
been  pleased  to  lend  it  to  me  so  long?  Arise,  and  let  me 
depart,  for  this  is  not  my  rest ;  heaven  is  my  home.  Lord, 
bring  me  to  it :  the  joys  of  it  are  too  great  to  enter  into  me, 
O  make  me  fit  to  enter  into  them. 

While  I  lie  on  a  sick-bed,  Lord  help  me  to  patience  in 
my  sickness  without  murmuring. 

How  willingly  would  the  damned  in  hell  endure  my 
pains  a  thousand  years,  if  they  had  any  hopes  of  being  saved 
at  last.  Blessed  be  God  that  my  sickness  is  not  hell,  that 
my  pains  are  not  eternal. 

0  that  I  may  look  on  my  affliction  as  coming  from  the 
hand  of  him  who  is  the  Lord  of  health  and  of  sickness,  of 
life  and  of  death  ;  who  killeth  and  maketh  alive,  bringeth 
down  to  the  grave,  and  raiseth  up  again.  The  sovereign 
and  wise  Lord  hath  determined  the  time  when  my  affliction 
shall  end,  as  well  as  the  time  wheri  it  began.  Thirty-eight 
years  were  appointed  the  sick  man  at  Bethesda  pool ;  eigh- 

Affl.  Man's  Compauion.  1  0 


218  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

teen  years  to  the  woman  that  Satan  kept  bound ;  twelve 
years  to  the  woman  with  the  bloody- issue  ;  ten  days'  tribula- 
tion to  those  of  Smyrna ;  three  days'  plague  to  David.  The 
number  of  the  godly  man's  tears  is  registered  in  God's  book ; 
yea,  the  hairs  of  his  head  are  numbered. 

When  David  got  his  choice  of  his  own  chastisement,  he 
chose  rather  to  be  corrected  by  the  hand  of  God,  than  by 
any  other  means,  saying,  "Let  me  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
Lord,  for  his  mercies  are  great."  "  I  was  dumb,  and  opened 
not  my  mouth,  because  thou  didst  it."  Glory  to  God  that 
I  am  fallen  into  his  merciful  hand.  Hath  God  appointed 
that  man's  coming  into  the  world  shall  be  attended  with 
pain  and  crying,  and  his  going  out  of  it  with  grief  and 
trouble;  and  shall  I  quarrel  at  it?  No;  I  desire  humbly  to 
submit  to  the  correction  of  mine  iniquity,  and  to  bear  the 
indignation  of  the  Lord,  becatise  I  have  sinned  against  him. 
0  that  the  sickness  of  my  body  may  be  a  means  of  health 
to  my  soul.  May  I  be  chastened  of  the  Lord,  so  that  I  may 
not  be  condemned  with  the  world. 

It  is  good  for  the  believer  that  he  is  afflicted ;  why  ?  it 
springs  from  divine  love,  and  it  works  for  his  soul's  good. 
Affliction  is  a  seal  of  his  adoption,  and  no  sign  of  reproba- 
tion. The  purest  gold  is  the  most  tried,  the  sweetest  grape 
is  hardest  pressed,  and  the  truest  Christian  is  heaviest  crossed. 
But  0  how  soon  will  the  Christian  forget  all  his  groans  when 
he  comes  to  heaven.  As  soon  as  Stephen  saw  Christ,  though 
at  a  distance,  he  forgot  all  his  wounds  and  bruises  :  he  minded 
no  more  the  terror  of  the  stones  about  his  ears,  but  sweetly 
yielded  his  soul  into  his  Redeemer's  hands. 

I  read  of  many  in  the  gospel,  that  by  sickness  and  dis- 
eases were  driven  unto  Christ,  who,  if  they  had  enjoyed 
health  and  prosperity,  would  have  neglected,  like  many  oth- 
ers, to  come  to  him^  0  blessed  is  that  cross  that  draweth  a 
sinner  to  Christ,  to  lay  open  his  own  misery  and  implore 
Christ's  mercy.     And  blessed  be  that  Christ  who  never  re- 


THE   SICK  AND  DYINa.  219 

fuseth  the  sinner  that  cometh  to  him,  though  driven  by  afflic- 
tion and  misery.  To  whom  shall  such  a  distressed  creature 
as  I  go,  but  to  Him  who  is  the  only  physician  that  can  cure 
both  my  soul  of  sin  and  my  body  of  sickness  ? 

Lord,  thou  hast  never  denied  thy  mercy  to  any  sinner 
that  asked  it  with  a  penitent  heart.  There  were  many 
sorts  of  sick  sinners  that  came  to  thee  in  the  days  of  thy 
flesh  :  the  blind,  the  deaf,  the  lame,  the  lepers ;  those  that 
were  sick  of  palsies,  dropsies,  fevers,  fluxes,  and  were  pos- 
sessed with  devils ;  and  yet  never  one  of  them  came  crying 
for  mercy,  that  went  away  without  his  errand,  were  his  sin 
ever  so  great  or  his  disease  ever  sa  grievous.  Nay,  so  mer- 
ciful is  my  Redeemer,  that  he  offered  and  gave  his  mercy  to 
many  that  never  asked  it,  being  moved  with  the  bowels  of 
his  own  compassion  and  the  sight  of  their  misery  :  so  dealt 
he  with  the  woman  of  Samaria,  the  widow  of  Nain,  and  the 
man  that  lay  thirty-eight  years  at  the  pool  of  Bethesda.  Oh, 
if  he  gave  his  mercy  so  willingly  to  them  that  did  not  ask  it, 
and  was  found  of  them  that  sought  him  not,  will  he  deny 
mercy  to  my  soul  that  is  crying  for  it  ? 

There  is  but  a  step  between  me  and  death  ;  Lord,  seal 
my  pardon  to  me,  before  I  go  hence  and  be  no  more.  0 
draw  nigh  to  me  and  save  me ;  for  my  soul  is  full  of  trouble, 
and  my  life  draweth  nigh  unto  the  grave.  Thy  loving- 
kindness  is  better  than  life  :  0  make  me  sure  of  that,  and  1 
will  willingly  part  with  this  mortal  life. 

0  thou  who  wiliest  not  that  any  should  perish,  but  that 
all  should  come  to  repentance,  be  pleased  to  make  use  of 
the  chastisement  of  my  body  as  a  medicine  to  cure  my  soul, 
and  bring  me  to  a  true  and  sincere  repentance.  One  day  is 
with  thee  as  a  thousand  years :  0  work  in  me  on  this,  which 
may  be  my  last  day,  whatsoever  thou  seest  wanting  in  me. 
Enable  me  to  present  unto  thee  the  sacrifice  of  a  broken  and 
contrite  heart,  which  thou  hast  promised  not  to  despise. 
Give  me  a  true  and  lively  faith  in  the  blessed  Jesus,  who  is 


220  AFFLICTED  MAN'S   COMPANION. 

the  propitiation  for  our  sins.  He  was  wounded  for  our 
transgressions,  he  was  bruised  for  our  iniquities,  the  chas- 
tisement of  our  peace  was  upon  him ;  0  heal  me  by  his 
stripes.  Let  the  cry  of  his  blood  drown  the  clamor  of  my 
sins.  I  am  indeed  a  child  of  wrath,  but  Christ  is  the  Son  of 
thy  love ;  0  pity  me  for  his  sake,  and  let  my  soul  find  sanc- 
tuary in  his  wounds. 

0  Lord,  the  waters  of  affliction  are  come  in  even  upon 
my  soul.  0  let  the  Spirit  of  God  move  on  these  waters, 
that  like  th^  pool  of  Bethesda,  they  may  cure  whatever 
spiritual  diseases  thou  seest  in  me.  0  Lord,  consider  my 
affliction,  accept  my  tears,  assuage  my  pain,  increase  my 
patience,  and  finish  my  troubles.  Correct  me  with  the  chas- 
tisement of  a  Father,  and  not  with  the  wounds  of  an  enemy ; 
and  though  thou  take  not  off  thy  rod.  Lord,  take  away  thine 
anger. 

Lord,  the  prince  of  this  world  cometh  :  0  let  him  have 
nothing  in  me  ;  but,  as  he  accuseth,  do  thou  absolve.  I  have 
nothing  to  say  for  myself,  but  be  thou  my  advocate.  Lord ; 
and  do  thou  answer  for  me.  I  am  clothed  with  filthy  gar- 
ments, and  Satan  stands  at  my  right  hand  to  resist  me ;  0 
Lord,  rebuke  him,  and  pluck  me  as  a  brand  out  of  the  fire. 
Cause  mine  iniquities  to  pass  from  me,  and  clothe  me  with 
the  righteousness  of  thy  dear  Son.  I  know,  0  Lord,  that  no 
unclean  thing  can  enter  into  thy  kingdom,  and  thou  seest  I 
am  nothing  but  pollution,  yea,  my  very  righteousness  is  filthy 
rags  :  0  wash  thou  me,  and  make  me  white  in  the  blood  of 
the  Lamb,  that  I  may  be  fit  to  stand  before  thy  throne.  0 
take  me  from  the  tents  of  Kedar,  to  the  mansions  of  light 
and  purity.  When  my  earthly  house  of  this  tabernacle  is 
dissolved,  0  let  me  have  a  building  of  God,  a  house  not 
made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens.  0  bring  my  soul 
out  of  prison,  that  I  may  eternally  give  thanks  unto  thy 
name.     Amen. 


DUTIES   OF   FRIENDS  AND  NEiaHBORS.         221 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

DIRECTIONS  TO  THE  FRIENDS  AND  NEiaHBORS  OF  THE  SICK, 
WHO  ARE  THEMSELVES  IN  HEALTH  FOR  THE  TIME. 

When  the  Lord  sends  sickness  and  affliction  to  our  neigh- 
bors, we  ought  not  to  be  idle  and  unconcerned  spectators  of 
his  dispensations,  but  we  should  hearken  to  the  voice  of 
God's  rod  upon  others,  and  consider  what  it  is  that  the  Lord 
is  caUing  for  at  our  hands.  These  following  directions  may 
be  useful  to  those  that  are  in  health. 

Direction  1 .  Be  very  thankful  to  God  for  the  great  mercy  of 
health  and  strength,  and  improve  it  to  his  glory. 

Surely  a  healthful  person  hath  great  cause  to  be  a  thank- 
ful person.  Health  is  a  mercy  that  doth  season  and  sweeten 
every  other  temporal  mercy ;  without  it  the  greatest  wealth 
and  honors,  nay,  a  king's  crown,  can  give  no  satisfaction. 
It  is  far  more  eligible  to  be  a  healthy  beggar  than  a  sickly 
king.  What  comfort  could  it  afford  us  under  tossing  sick- 
ness and  racking  pains,  to  have  the  greatest  heaps  of  money 
to  look  to,  or  thousands  coming  to  pay  us  homage  ?  alas,  for 
our  unthankfulness  to  him  who  is  the  God  of  our  health. 
How  little  do  we  prize  his  goodness  in  continuing  with  us 
such  a  long  season  of  health  and  strength,  together  with  the 
use  of  our  reason  and  senses,  when  many  others  are  deprived 
of  them.  Surely  God  were  righteous,  should  he  teach  us  to 
value  the  worth  of  these  mercies  by  the  want  of  them. 

Let  us  consider  how  many  miserable  persons  there  are 
in  the  world,  and  who  it  is  that  maketh  us  to  differ  from 
them  ;  how  many  diseased,  distracted,  deformed,  lame,  blind, 
deaf  and  dumb  people  there  are ;  and  how  easy  it  had  been 
for  God  to  have  put  us  in  their  condition,  and  them  in  ours. 
The  difference  is  not  owing  to  any  thing  in  us;  their  sins 
are  not  greater  than  ours.     Had  we  a  due  sense  of  our  sins 


222  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION, 

and  iJl-deservings,  we  should  acknowledge  ourselves  unwor- 
thy of  the  least  of  all  God's  mercies;  we  should  reckon 
every  common  mercy  a  special  blessing  and  unmerited  favor 
to  us.  Again,  let  us  take  a  view  of  the  fainting  sickness, 
racking  pains,  and  restless  nights  of  others.  Let  us  look 
upon  our  sick  friends  sweating  and  burning  under  fevers  ; 
let  us  hear  them  groaning  and  moaning  under  strong  pain. 
"  Their  soul  abhors  all  manner  of  meat,  and  they  draw  near 
unto  the  gates  of  death."  Sometimes  we  see  them  panting 
and  fainting,  and  not  able  to  speak  a  word  to  us.  And  what 
is  the  language  of  all  this  to  us  ?  Is  it  not,  that  we  should 
thankfully  adore  our  gracious  God,  and  bless  and  magnify 
him  for  his  distinguished  goodness  to  us  ?  0  how  much  are 
we  indebted  to  the  Lord,  that  it  is  not  so  with  us  as  with 
others.  Wearisome  nights  are  appointed  to  them,  and  their 
bones  are  full  of  tossing ;  all  the  comforts  of  this  life  are 
tasteless  to  them ;  their  friends  are  weeping  about  them,  but 
cannot  help  them.  "  It  is  far  otherwise  with  me,"  may  you 
say,  "my  mercies  and  relations  bring  comfort  to  me;  I  relish 
my  food,  my  bed  gives  me  ease,  my  sleep  is  refreshing ;  I 
have  freedom  to  read  and  to  pray,  to  meditate  and  attend 
the  public  ordinances.  Praise  the  Lord,  0  my  soul ;  and  all 
that  is  within  me,  bless  his  holy  name.  Forget  not  this 
benefit  of  health,  that  is  the  chief  of  all  my  outward  bless- 
ings; some  would  part  with  all  their  worldly  wealth,  to 
have  so  much  bodily  health  as  I  have.  Long  have  I  under- 
valued and  abused  this  choice  mercy  of  health ;  0  that  I 
could  mourn  for  my  neglect,  and  resolve  in  God's  strength 
to  improve  my  remaining  health,  for  the  praise  and  service 
of  that  merciful  God  who  is  the  author  and  preserver  of  it. 
Let  me  spend  and  be  spent  for  God,  that  gives  me  all  my 
health  and  strength  for  his  glory.  Let  me  abhor  the  ingrati- 
tude of  those  who  employ  the  health  which  God  giveth,  in 
the  service  of  his  enemies,  and  make  a  sacrifice  of  it  to  the 
devil,  the  world,  and  the  flesh.     0  what  prodigious  folly  are 


DUTIES  OF   FRIENDS  AND  NEIG-HBORS.        221 

those  guilty  of,  who,  for  satisfying  their  sensual  appetite, 
deprive  themselves  of  health,  which  is  in  itself  a  thousand 
times  of  more  value  than  all  their  brutish  pleasure.  God 
help  me  to  prize  this  mercy,  that  can  never  be  prized 
enough." 

Direction  2.  Make  conscience  of  visiting  your  sick  friends  and 
neighbors,  believing  it  your  duty  and  interest  so  to  do. 
Visiting  of  the  sick  is  not  only  the  duty  of  the  ministers 
of  Christ,  but  likewise  of  all  the  members  of  Christ;  for  we 
are  all  enjoined  to  remember  them  that  are  in  adversity,  and 
to  sympathize  with  the  afflicted,  as  being  ourselves  also  in 
the  body.  "To  him  that  is  afflicted,  pity  should  be  shown 
by  his  friends,"  saith  Job ;  and  our  Lord  gives  it  as  a  char- 
acter of  those  whom  he  will  own  and  acquit  at  the  great 
day, ."  I  was  sick,  and  ye  visited  me."  Matt.  25  :  36.  This 
is  the  way  to  be  like  him  who  is  the  Father  of  mercies,  and 
whose  soul  was  grieved  for  the  miseries  of  Israel.  Judg. 
10  :  16.  We  read  how  tenderly  David  sympathized  with 
his  enemies  when  they  were  sick.  Psa.  35  :  13,  14.  'And 
much  more  ought  we  to  visit  and  sympathize  with  our  sick 
friends.  To  visit  the  prosperous  and  healthy  is  an  act  of 
courtesy  and  civility  ;  but  to  visit  the  afflicted  and  sickly  is 
an  act  of  charity  and  Christianity. 

And  as  it  is  your  duty,  so  it  is  your  interest  and  advan- 
tage to  visit  the  sick.  The  wise  man  tells  you,  "  It  is  better 
to  go  to  the  house  of  mourning  than  to  the  house  of  feast- 
ing." Eccl.  7  :  2.  King  Joash  went  to  see  Elisha  in  his 
sickness,  and  wept  over  him;  and  he  lost  nothing  by  so 
doing,  2  Kings,  13  :  14,  for  he  obtained  thereby  three  famous 
victories  over  the  Syrians.  Though  it  be  not  warrantable 
to  inquire  of  the  dead,  Deut.  18  :  11,  yet  we  may  fearn  many 
wholesome  lessons  from  the  dying,  even  though  they  be 
speechless.  For  instance,  we  may  hereby  be  instructed  how 
to  prize  health,  learn  our  own  frailty,  and  provide  for  the 
time  of  sickness.     "When  we  behold  their  strength  languish- 


224  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANIOJf. 

ing,  their  tongues  faltering,  their  eyes  failing,  their  counte- 
nances pale,  we  should  think  with  ourselves,  "  This  will  be 
my  case  ere  long ;  the  next  arrow  that  death  shoots  may  be 
levelled  at  me  ;  how  much  is  it  my  concern  to  prepare  for 
it !"  Also  we  may  thhik  what  a  bitter  thing  sin  is,  that  is 
the  cause  of  all  these  pains  and  distress,  and  how  mad  they 
are  who  love  sin  and  take  pleasure  in  it.  We  may  see 
likewise  the  great  folly  of  courting  and  trusting  the  world, 
which  leaves  the  sick  and  dying  man  in  the  greatest 
extremity.  And  we  may  observe  how  happy  the  man  is 
that  hath  an  interest  in  Christ,  the  peace  of  a  good  con- 
science, and  a  well-grounded  hope  of  heaven,  to  yield  him 
support  and  confidence  under  his  strugglings  with  sickness 
and  death.  When  we  hear  the  dying  man's  complaints  of 
his  sins,  and  his  lamenting  his  neglect  of  duty,  and  mis- 
spending of  precious  time,  we  may  learn  repentance  and 
reformation.  When  we  observe  believers'  professions  of 
love  to  Christ,  and  their  hope  in  him  to  the  last,  it  doth 
contribute  to  the  quickening  and  strengthening  of  our  faith. 
A  right  sight  of  dying  persons  is  a  good  means  to  increase 
the  spirit  of  grace  and  supplication  in  us.  We  may  fitly 
allude  here  to  the  answer  which  Elijah  gave  to  Elisha 
when  he  sought  a  double  portion  of  his  spirit :  "If  thou 
seest  me  when  I  am  taken  from  thee,  it  shall  be  so  unto 
thee."  2  Kings,  2:10.  A  double  portion  of  the  Spirit  shall 
be  the  allowance  of  those  who  make  conscience  of  this  duty. 

Direction  3.    Let   the  friends  of  the  sick  and  those  who  visit 
them,  deal  faithfully  with  them  about  their  souls. 

,  Consider,  this  may  be  the  last  opportunity  you  may  have 
of  doing  any  thing  for  your  friend's  soul.  If  he  die,  he  is 
fixed  in  his  everlasting  state,  so  that  all  advices  and  coun- 
sels then  will  be  fruitless.  It  is  now,  or  never,  that  you 
must  exert  yourself  for  your  friend's  advantage  ;  there  is  no 
wisdom  in  the  grave  to  which  he  is  going.  "  God's  loving- 
kindness  cannot  be  declared  in  the  grave,  nor  his  faithful- 


DUTIES  OF   FRIENDS  AND  NEiaHBORS.        225 

iiess  in  destruction.  Psa.  88  :  11.  Now  is  the  proper  time 
for  doing  good  to  your  neighbor's  soul.  When  affliction 
opens  the  ear  to  discipline,  be  careful  to  drop  in  wholesome 
instructions  into  it ;  and  when  the  heart  is  made  tender  by 
sickness,  it  is  a  fit  season  for  good  counsels  to  make  im- 
pressions on  it.  Let  the  opportunity  be  improved  with 
faithfulness  and  prudence  ;  and  in  order  to  this,  observe  the 
following  ADVICES  : 

1.  Labor  to  know  the  sick  man's  spiritual  condition,  that 
your  application  may  be  suitable  for  it.  The  knowledge  of 
the  disease  is  previously  requisite  unto  the  cure  :  as  the 
mistake  of  a  physician  about  a  man's  disease  may  be  as 
dangerous  as  the  disease  itself,  so  here  it  is  highly  dangerous 
to  mistake  the  case  of  the  sick  man's  soul ;  for  then  lenitives 
may  be  applied  when  corrosives  are  needful — promises  may 
be  administered  when  threatenings  are  more  proper. 

2.  Bew^are  of  flattering  the  sick  with  vain  hopes  of  life 
when  he  is  more  likely  to  die,  lest  he  be  tempted  to  delay 
or  slacken  his  preparation  for  another  world.  It  is  fit  that 
plainness  be  used  with  respect  to  his  danger,  that  he  may 
be  quickened  to  his  work. 

3.  The  sick  is  to  be  admonished  and  told  that  sickness 
comes  not  by  chance,  nor  by  second  causes  merely,  but  by 
the  wise  direction  and  special  providence  of  God ;  that  some- 
times God  smites  out  of  displeasure  for  sin  and  for  the  sin- 
ner's correction  and  amendment,  and  sometimes  for  the  trial 
and  exercise  of  his  people's  graces ;  that  the  sharpest 
afflictions  shall  work  for  good  to  them  that  love  God,  and 
are  rightly  affected  and  improved  under  God's  hand;  that 
it  is  a  great  mercy  to  a  sinner,  when  God  by  his  rod  gives 
him  warning  and  space  to  repent  and  flee  to  the  blood  of 
sprinkling,  and  to  cry  to  God  for  pardon,  and  doth  not 
snatch  him  out  of  the  world  by  sudden  death  ;  upon  which 
account  the  voice  of  the  rod  should  be  carefully  hearkened 
to  and  thankfully  obeyed. 

10* 


226  AFFLICTED  MAN'S   COMPANION. 

4.  If  the  sick  person  be  ignorant,  he  is  to  be  catechized 
and  instructed  in  the  principles  of  religion,  especially  con- 
cerning his  faith  and  repentance,  and  his  accepting  of  the 
covenant  of  grace  and  the  method  of  pardon  and  salvation 
through  the  righteousness  of  Christ  apprehended  by  faith. 
And  it  may  be  proper  to  obtain  his  assent  to  some  of  the 
fundamental  truths  of  Christianity,  or  his  answer  to  such 
questions  as  these  : 

Do  you  believe  in  God  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost, 
one  God  in  three  persons,  the  Maker  and  Governor  of  the 
world  ? 

Do  you  believe  that  Jesus  Christ,  who  assumed  our  na- 
ture, obeyed  the  law,  died  on  the  cross,  rose  from  the  dead, 
and  ascended  to  heaven,  is  the  eternal  Son  of  God,  and  the 
only  Saviour  of  sinners  ? 

Are  you  sensible  that  you  are  a  lost  sinner  by  Adam's 
fall,  and  besides  that,  guilty  of  innumerable  actual  sins  ;  and 
that  you  have  broken  God's  holy  commandments  in  thoughts, 
words,  and  deeds,  and  for  so  doing  deserve  God's  wrath  both 
in  this  life  and  that  which  is  to  come  ? 

Are  you  truly  grieved  and  sorry  for  breaking  God's  law, 
neglecting  his  worship,  misspending  your  time,  and  pursuing 
the  vanities  of  the  world  ?  And  would  you  hve  otherwise, 
if  you  were  to  begin  your  life  again?  .  -  •   •  ;', 

How  do  you  think  to  get  your  guilt  removed,  your  sins 
pardoned,  and  your  peace  made  with  God  ?  Are  you  desir- 
ous from  your  heart  to  be  reconciled  to  God  through  Jesus 
Christ  the  blessed  peacemaker  ? 

Do  you  heartily  approve  of  the  gospel  method  of  recon- 
ciliation, by  the  righteousness  and  sacrifice  offered  up  by  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  your  Surety,  in  your  name  and  stead? 
And  is  your  soul  desirous  to  choose  and  accept  of  Christ  for 
your  Mediator  and  Saviour,  in  all  his  offices  of  Prophet, 
Priest,  and  King  ? 

Do  you  renounce  all  confidence  in  any  other,  all  depend- 


DUTIES  OF  FEIENDS  AND  NEiaHBORS.        227 

ence  on  your  own  duties  and  righteousness,  and  put  your 
whole  trust  and  confidence  in  Christ  and  the  merits  of  his 
blood,  saying,  "  Whom  have  I  in  heaven  but  thee,  and  there 
is  none  on  earth  that  I  desire  besides  thee  ?"  Do  you  believe 
that  there  is  no  salvation  in  any  other ;  and  that  there  is  no 
name  under  heaven  whereby  you  can  be  saved,  but  Jesus 
Christ  only  ? 

Do  you  desire  to  be  wholly  renewed  and  sanctified  by 
virtue  of  Christ's  blood,  and  to  show  forth  the  reality  of  your 
faith  by  good  works  and  a  holy  life,  for  the  time  you  have 
to  live  in  the  world  ?  And,  as  evidence  thereof,  are  you 
willing  to  restore  what  you  have  taken  wrongfully  from  any, 
and  to  cast  out  all  malice  or  hatred  you  have  borne  to  any, 
and  ask  forgiveness  of  any  you  have  injured  ? 

Do  you  l>elieve  that  Christ  is  coming  at  the  last  day  to 
judge  all  the  world,  both  the  quick  and  the  dead,  whom  he 
shall  then  raise  from  the  grave,  and  that  your  dead  body 
shall  rise  with  the  rest  ? 

Do  you  believe  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  and  its  living 
in  a  separate  state  after  death,  and  that  the  souls  of  believers 
do  thence  pass  into  glory,  where  they  shall  be  ever  with  the 
Lord  ? 

5 .  In  dealing  with  the  sick,  you  are  to  separate  between 
the  precious  and  the  vile,  and  make  a  difierence  between  the 
converted  and  the  unconverted.  And  seeing  difierent  appli- 
cations are  requisite,  you  are,  according  to  your  knowledge, 
to  study  to  suit  your  counsels,  admonitions,  and  prayers  to 
their  condition  ;  not  using  the  same  words  to  the  ungodly  as 
to  the  godly,  lest  you  flatter  them  with  ill-grounded  hopes 
that  their  state  is  safe,  while  they  are  strangers  to  a  work  of 
regeneration.  The  great  truth  is  to  be  declared  to  all,  that 
"Unless  a  man  be  born  again,  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom 
of  God."  0  it  is  dangerous  to  speak  peace  when  God  speaks 
war. 

6.  If  the  sick  person  seem  to  be  secure,  or  have  not  a 


228  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

due  sense  of  his  sins,  endeavors  must  be  used  to  convince 
him  of  the  guilt,  pollution,  and  danger  of  them,  in  order  to 
his  humiliation.  Presumptuous  sinners  are  not  to  be  flat- 
tered, lest  ^ve  betray  their  souls  into  eternal  ruin,  and  so 
their  blood  be  required  at  our  hand.  No  fond  love,  no  slavish 
fear,  must  keep  us  from  telling  them  the  hazard  of  their 
present  state.  Their  secure  conscience  must  be  awakened 
to  see  the  demerit  of  sin,  and  the  terribleness  of  the  justice 
of  a  sin-avenging  God,  before  whom  no  Christless  impenitent 
sinner  can  stand :  this  is  necessary  in  order  to  a  sinner's  dis- 
covering his  lost  case  in  himself,  and  his  fleeing  to  Christ  for 
refuge.  It  is  God's  method  first  to  cast  down  the  soul,  before 
•he  lift  it  up — ^to  plow  the  heart  by  conviction,  before  he  cast 
in  the  seed  of  consolation. 

7.  If  the  sick  person  had  studied  to  walk  uprightly,  but 
is  at  present  discouraged  on  account  of  the  sharpness  of  the 
rod,  Satan's  temptations,  the  guilt  of  sin,  fear  of  death,  or 
the  like,  then  suitable  counsels,  resolutions,  and  comforts 
are  to  be  offered,  in  order  to  his  confirmation  and  support. 
Particularly,  he  may  be  told  that  sharp  rods  are  nowise  incon- 
sistent with  divine  love ;  nay,  frequently  they  are  a  sign  of 
it:  for  as  standing  waters  turn  corrupt  because  they  have 
no  current,  so  with  those  who  are  not  poured  from  vessel  to 
vessel,  their  taste  remains  and  their  scent  is  not  changed; 
therefore  God,  in  order  to  take  away  the  scent  of  corrupt 
nature  from  us,  is  pleased  to  change  us  from  state  to  state 
by  crosses  and  sickness,  in  order  to  our  salvation.  As  Noah's 
ark,  the  higher  it  was  tossed  with  the  flood,  mounted  the 
nearer  towards  heaven ;  so  the  sanctified  soul,  the  more  it  is 
exercised  with  affliction,  is  lifted  the  nearer  towards  God. 
Again,  it  is  proper  to  set  before  him  the  freeness  and  fulness 
of  God's  grace,  the  sufficiency  of  righteousness  in  Christ, 
and  his  rich  and  gracious  offers  in  the  gospel,  by  which  we 
are  assured  that  all  who  repent  and  believe  with  all  their 
heart  in  God's  mercy  through  Christ,  renouncing  their  own 


DUTIES  OF  FRIENDS   AND  NEiaHBORS.        229 

riglileousness,  shall  not  perish  in  their  siiis,  but  have  life  and 
salvation  in  him ;  and  that  believers  in  Christ  are  assured  of 
victory  over  Satan,  death,  and  all  their  enemies,  because 
Christ  their  head  hath  by  his  cross  conquered  the  devil,  un- 
stinged  death,  triumphed  over  the  grave,  and  obtained  vic- 
tory for  all  his  members.  So  that  neither  life  nor  death, 
principalities  nor  powers,  shall  be  able  to  separate  them  from 
God's  love  in  Christ. 

8.  If  a  sick  man  be  so  tempted  and  troubled  in  con- 
science that  he  is  in  hazard  of  despairing  of  God's  mercy, 
it  is  necessary  to  inform  him  of  the  greatness  and  infinite- 
ness  of  God's  mercy — that  the  most  notorious  sinners  have 
been  pardoned  and  saved  by  it,  and  that  it  is  offered  in  the 
gospel  to  the  vilest  of  sinners.  Though  God  foresaw  all  the 
sins  which  the  world  would  commit,  yet  these  did  not  hinder 
him  from  loving  the  world  so  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten 
Son  to  death,  to  save  as  many  as  would  believe  and  repent ; 
so  that  the  sins  of  one  man  can  never  hinder  God  from  loving 
his  soul  and  forgiving  his  sins,  when  he  sincerely  desires  to 
repent  and  believe.  The  cry  of  the  most  grievous  sins  that 
are  recorded,  such  as  those  of  Sodom,  could  never  reach 
higher  than  unto  heaven.  Gen.  19  :  13.  But  David  assures 
us  that  his  mercy  is  great,  and  reacheth  higher  than  the 
heavens,  Psalm  108  :  4,  so  that  it  overtoppeth  the  greatest  of 
all  our  sins.  If  the  mercy  of  God  be  greater  than  all  his 
works,  it  must  surely  be  greater  than  all  our  sins.  Again, 
lay  before  him  the  infinite  virtue  of  Christ's  blood.  Acts 
20  :  28.  Are  there  any  sins  so  great,  or  guilt  so  heinous, 
but  the  blood  of  Christ  can  wash  them  away  ?  This  was 
godly  Cranmer's  support  the  day  he  suffered  martyrdom, 
when  his  sin  of  renouncing  the  Protestant  doctrine  stared 
him  in  the  face:  "Surely,"  said  he,  "God  was  made  flesh, 
and  shed  his  blood,  not  for  lesser  sins  only,  but  for'  greater 
sins  also."  He  was  sadly  discouraged,  and  wept  abundantly, 
till  he  looked  to  this  meritorious  blood:  and  then  he  took 


230  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

heart  and  died  with  courage.  0  this  price  was  so  great 
that  it  could  have  merited  pardon  for  the  sins  of  all  the 
devils  in  hell,  as  well  as  of  all  the  men  on  earth,  though 
every  one  of  them  had  been  red  as  crimson.  Yea,  the  least 
drop  of  this  blood  is  of  more  merit  to  procure  the  mercy  of 
God  for  our  salvation,  than  all  our  sins  can  be  of  force  to 
provoke  the  wrath  of  God  for  our  damnation. 

Moreover,  let  him  be  put  in  mind  of  the  Mdllingness  and 
readiness  of  our  Redeemer  to  receive  all  sinners  that  came 
to  him  in  the  days  of  his  flesh,  though  driven  to  him  by 
sickness  and  affliction ;  so  that  he  never  sent  any  of  them 
away  without  their  errand  that  came  crying  for  mercy. 
Nay,  he  many  times  sought  out  objects  for  his  mercy  that 
were  not  thinking  of  coming  to  him,  as  we  showed  before. 
Observe  the  gentleness  of  our  Lord's  carriage  to  Judas  him- 
self, in  calling  him  friend,  after  his  most  treacherous  deal- 
ing:  "Friend,  wherefore  art  thou  come?"  Matt.  26  :  50. 
Had  the  wretched  Judas  laid  hold  of  the  word  friend  out  of 
the  mouth  of  Christ,  as  Benhadad  did  of  the  word  brother 
from  the  mouth  of  Ahab,  doubtless  Judas  would  have  found 
the  God  of  Israel  more  merciful  than  Benhadad  found  the 
king  of  Israel.      1  Kings,  20  :  33. 

Let  him  also  consider,  that  to  despair  of  God's  mercy 
casts  the  greatest  dishonor  upon  the  divine  majesty,  and  is 
a  sin  more  heinous  than  all  the  sins  which  he  before  com- 
mitted; because  it  doth  charge  the  great  God  as  guilty  of 
perjury,  who  hath  solemnly  sworn  that  he  desires  not  the 
death  of  a  sinner,  but  rather  that  he  should  repent  and  live. 
Ezek.  33  :  11.  God  was  more  displeased  with  Cain  for 
despairing  of  his  mercy,  than  for  murdering  his  brother,  and 
with  Judas  for  hanging  himself,  than  for  betraying  his  Mas- 
ter. Why  ?  because  that  by  their  despair  they  would  make 
the  sins  of  mortal  men  greater  than  the  infinite  mercy  of 
the  eternal  God. 


DUTIES  OF  FRIENDS   AND  NEiaHBORS.        231 

Direction  4.  Be  earnest  in  prayer  to  God  for  your  friends  when 
sick  or  dying-  pray  with  them  and  for  them. 

Frequently  sick  persons  are  so  disquieted  with  pain  and 
trouble  that  they  are  httle  able  to  pray  for  themselves,  and 
therefore  they  have  the  more  need  of  the  prayers  of  others. 
David  fasted  and  prayed  for  his  enemies  when  they  were 
sick,  Psa.  19  :  13  ;  much  more  ought  we  to  pray  for  our 
friends  in  that  case.  Never  did  they  need  our  prayers  so 
much  as  when  they  are  called  to  enter  upon  an  unchange- 
able eondition — to  go  to  their  long  home,  even  that  place 
wherein  they  must  abide  for  ever.  Now  they  are  in  the 
land  of  prayer ;  and  it  is  now  or  never  that  you  must  pray 
and  beg  mercy  for  them.  When  their  life  is  gone,  they  go 
from  the  land  of  prayer,  and  are  fixed  in  that  place  whence 
they  shall  never  remove  ;  then  all  prayers  and  cries  for  them 
will  be  in  vain.  If  your  friend  be  a  stranger  to  Christ,  he 
is  on  the  brink  of  hell,  and  knows  it  not ;  and  will  you  not 
cry  to  God  to  open  his  eyes,  and  save  him  from  falling  into 
that  devouring  pit,  out  of  which  there  is  no  redemption  ? 
You  would  be  wdlling  to  sit  up  a  whole  night  for  the  relief 
of  his  body  ;  and  will  you  not  spend  a  part  of  a  night  for 
the  good  of  his  soul,  that  is  a  thousand  times  more  valuable  ? 
Now  the  question  is,  whether  this  precious  soul  shall  be 
Christ's  or  the  devils  for  ever.  And  when  will  you  wrestle 
for  your  friend,  if  you  do  it  not  now  ?  If  the  sick  person 
be  a  child  of  God,  you  may  pray  with  more  comfort  and 
expectation  to  be  heard.  You  may,  in  that  case,  send  the 
same  message  by  prayer  to  Christ  that  the  sister  of  sick 
Lazarus  did  :  "  Lord,  behold,  he  whom  thou  lovest  is  sick." 
John  11  :  3.  Lord,  pity  him,  comfort  him,  abate  his  dis- 
temper, and  relieve  him  from  it,  if  it  be  thy  will ;  if  not, 
grant  him  thy  gracious  presence  and  safe  conduct  through 
the  Jordan  of  death,  and  a  happy  landing  in  the  Canaan  of 
glory. 

We  are  told  that  the  prayer  of  the  righteous  in  such 


232  AFFLICTED   MAN'S  COMPANION. 

cases  doth  avail  much.  James  5:16.  And  this  ought  to 
encourage  us  to  pray  one  for  another.  Whatever  be  the 
sick  person's  condition,  such  confessions  and  petitions  as  the 
following  may  be  made  use  of  in  prayer  for  him. 

PETITIONS  FOR  THE  SICK. 

Lord,  thou  hast  breathed  into  man  the  breath  of  life; 
and  when  thou  takest  away  that  breath,  he  dies,  and  returns 
again  to  his  dust.  May  we  be  duly  sensible  of  our  depend- 
ence on  thee  for  all  that  we  enjoy.  We  acknowledge  that 
our  great  abuse  of  the  many  days  of  health  and  welfare  thou 
affordest  us  doth  justly  deserve  the  visitation  of  sickness  and 
diseases.  Alas  for  us,  we  lie  under  a  burden  of  sin,  both 
original  and  actual ;  we  are  all  the  children  of  wrath  by 
nature,  and  under  the  curse  of  a  broken  law ;  and  all  other 
miseries,  temporal  and  spiritual,  distempers,  pains,  death, 
and  hell  itself,  are  the  issues  thereof  Be  merciful  to  the 
sick  person  under  thy  hand  ;  make  known  to  him  his  sins, 
and  the  cause  why  thou  contendest  with  him.  Make  him 
see  that  he  is  lost  in  himself,  and  wholly  unable  to  satisfy 
the  demands  of  offended  justice ;  and  do  thou  reveal  Christ 
to  his  soul  for  righteousness  and  life.  Oh  give  him  thy  Holy 
Spirit  to  create  and  strengthen  faith,  that  he  may  lay  hold 
on  Christ  as  offered  in  the  gospel.  Work  in  him  the  grace 
of  true  repentance.  Enable  him  to  search  his  heart  and 
try  his  ways,  so  that  he  may  discover  every  accursed  thing, 
every  Achan  in  the  camp,  that  hath  provoked  the  Lord 
against  him.  When  thou  puttest  him  in  the  furnace,  be 
pleased  to  stand  by  it,  and  oversee  the  metal  while  it  is 
melting  in  it.  Try  him  as  silver  is  tried,  and  bring  him  out 
purified,  and  let  him  lose  nothing  in  the  furnace  but  his 
dross.  Remove  his  sins  from  thy  presence  as  far  as  east  is 
from  west,  that  they  may  never  trouble  his  conscience  nor 
rise  in  judgment  against  his  soul.  However  bitter  the  cup 
may  be,  let  it  be  medicinal  to  cure  all  the  diseases  of  his 


DUTIES  TO  FRIENDS   AND   NEIG-HBORS.        233 

soul.  Oh  that  these  afflictions,  which  are  but  for  a  moment, 
may  work  for  him  a  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight 
of  glory,  through  Jesus  Christ  the  purchaser. 

Look  down  from  heaven,  the  habitation  of  thy  holiness ; 
behold  his  affliction  and  his  pain,  and  forgive  all  his  sin. 
Show  such  pity  to  him  as  a  father  doth  to  his  child,  and  lay 
no  more  upon  him  than  he  is  able  to  bear.  Lord,  give  pa- 
tience and  strength  equal  to  the  burden  of  trouble  thou  hast 
laid  on  him.  In  time  of  his  weakness,  uphold  him  by  thy 
strength.  Relieve  his  wants  out  of  thy  infinite  fulness. 
Lord,  thou  knowest  his  frame,  and  rememberest  that  he  is 
dust ;  save  him  from  extremity  of  trouble  ;  either  abate  his 
pain,  or  increase  his  patience  to  endure  what  thou  measurest 
out  to  him.  Give  him  the  evidences  of  all  the  graces  of  thy 
Spirit.  Arm  and  defend  him  against  all  the  suggestions 
and  temptations  of  Satan,  Take  his  heart  wholly  off  the 
world,  and  set  his  affections  on  things  above.  Lord,  make 
use  of  this  chastisement  of  his  body  as  a  medicine  to  cure 
his  soul,  by  drawing  his  soul  that  is  sick  of  sin  to  thyself 
Oh  enable  him,  in  a  penitent,  believing  manner,  to  come  by 
repentance  to  Christ  his  soul-physician,  to  get  it  healed  of 
its  maladies.  Sanctify  his  sickness,  and  let  the  fruit  of  it 
be  to  purge  away  his  sin. 

If  thou,  0  Lord,  shalt  be  pleased  to  add  to  his  days,  bless 
all  means  of  his  recovery.  Remove  the  disease  ;  renew  his 
strength  both  outward  and  inward ;  heal  his  soul  as  well 
as  his  body,  and  enable  him  to  walk  tenderly  before  thee, 
and  carefully  to  remember  and  perform  such  vows  and 
promises  of  obedience  as  men  are  wont  to  make  in  time  of 
sickness. 

If  thou  hast  determined  to  finish  his  days  by  the  present 
visitation,  let  him  find  such  evidence  of  the  pardon  of  his 
sins,  of  his  interest  in  Christ  and  eternal  life,  as  may  cause 
his  inward  man  to  be  renewed  while  his  outward  man  de- 
cayeth ;  that  he  may  meet  death  without  fear,  cast  himself 


234  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

wholly  on  Christ  without  doubting,  and  desire  to  be  dis- 
solved, that  he  may  be  for  ever  with  Jesus  Christ.  Lord, 
make  his  last  works  better  than  his  first,  and  the  day  of  his 
death  better  than  the  day  of  his  birth.  Make  his  last  words 
his  best  words,  his  last  thoughts  his  best  thoughts,  his  last 
hour  his  best  hour.  Oh  let  him  die  the  death  of  the  right- 
eous, and  let  his  last  end  be  like  his.  Let  the  eyes  of  his 
soul  be  opened  to  see  his  sins  and  his  Saviour,  before  the 
eyes  of  his  body  be  shut  by  death.  Take  away  the  sting  of 
death,  the  guilt  of  sin,  that  he  may  walk  through  the  valley 
of  the  shadow  of  death,  and  fear  no  evil.  Open  thou  his 
lips,  that  his  mouth  may  show  forth  thy  praise  before  he  go 
to  the  place  of  silence.  And  when  his  strength  doth  fail, 
and  his  tongue  is  not  able  to  utter  words,  let  the  blood  of 
Christ  speak  for  him  in  heaven ;  and  let  thy  Holy  Spirit 
within  him  make  requests  for  him  with  sighs  and  groans 
that  cannot  be  uttered.  When  the  sight  of  his  eyes  doth 
fail  him,  let  the  eyes  of  his  faith  be  strengthened,  that  his 
soul  may  behold  Jesus  Christ  in  heaven  ready  to  receive 
him.  Lord,  stand  by  him  in  his  last  conflict  with  his  ene- 
mies Satan  and  death,  that  he  may  overcome  both,  and  be 
more  than  a  conqueror  through  Christ  that  hath  loved  him. 
Into  thy  hands  we  commend  his  spirit. 

Lord,  teach  us  all  to  see  how  frail  and  uncertain  our  con- 
dition is,  and  so  to  number  our  days  that  we  may  seriously 
apply  our  hearts  to  heavenly  wisdom,  through  Jesus  Christ. 
Amen. 

Direction  5,  Be  careful  to  furnish  your  friends  with  suitable 
company  and  spiritual  converse,  when  they  are  sick  or 
dying. 

As  worldly  company  and  converse  are  great  hinderances, 
so  spiritual  company  and  converse  are  special  helps  to  the 
sick  and  dying.  Now,  that  the  friends  of  the  sick  may 
prevent  the  one  and  provide  for  the  other,  let  the  following 
ADVICES  be  remembered :  -     .•       -  "-.  ■ 


DUTIES  TO  FRIENDS  AND   NEiaHBORS.        235 

1.  Remind  your  friends  to  make  their  wills  in  season, 
and  dispatch  the  settlement  of  their  worldly  affairs,  that  so 
they  may  not  be  disturbed  at  the  last,  nor  anywise  diverted 
from  their  main  work  by  thoughts  or  conversation  about  the 
world.  A  mind  abstracted  from  the  world  is  a  most  suitable 
disposition  for  a  dying  man.  You  cannot  carry  the  things 
of  this  world  with  you  when  you  go  hence,  and  it  is  not  fit 
that  you  should  carry  the  thoughts  of  them. 

2.  Keep  carnal  company  from  them  as  much  as  possible, 
and  all  those  that  would  divert  them  by  idle  or  worldly  dis- 
course. It  is  both  impertinent  and  cruel  to  throw  such 
impediments  in  the  way  of  those  that  are  going  speedily  to 
their  endless  state. 

3.  Do  what  you  can  to  get  faithful  ministers  and  godly 
Christians  to  be  much  about  them ;  persons  able  to  instruct 
and  counsel  them  about  their  soul's  matters,  and  also  to 
pray  with  them  and  fqr  them. 

4.  Be  often  reminding  your  sick  friends  of  their  chief 
work,  and  the  things  which  belong  to  their  peace.  What- 
ever be  their  state,  whether  gracious  or  graceless,  it  is 
proper  to  be  often  reminding  them  of  the  vanity  and 
emptiness  of  the  world,  that  can  neither  give  ease  to  the 
body  nor  comfort  to  the  soul,  when  either  of  them  is  in 
trouble ;  of  the  sinfulness  of  sin,  which  is  the  spring  of  all 
diseases  and  miseries  whatever ;  of  the  preciousness  and 
usefulness  of  Christ  to  a  sinner  in  all  cases,  and  especially 
at  a  dying  hour ;  of  the  inexpressible  felicity  of  believers  in 
Christ  after  death,  and  similar  truths. 

5.  If  you  think  yourself  not  able  to  instruct  or  advise 
your  sick  friends  as  they  need,  then  read  some  good  book  to 
them,  that  may  be  suitable  to  the  condition  of  their  souls  ; 
and  if  you  have  not  a  fitter  at  hand,  read  some  chapters 
and  directions  of  this  book  to  them,  as  you  may  see  most 
proper  for  them.  But  above  all  books,  read  to  the  sick  the 
holy  Scriptures,  and  some  particular  chapters  and  psalms 


236  AFFLICTED  MAN'S   COMPANION. 

there,  such  as  the  last  three  chapters  of  Genesis,  the  last 
chapter  of  Deuteronomy,  the  I7th  chapter  of  the  first  book 
of  Kings,  the  2d  chapter  of  the  second  book  of  Kings,  the 
14th  and  19th  chapters  of  Job,  the  Psalms  of  David,  and 
particularly  the  6th,  the  23d,  25th,  30th,  38th,  41st,  42d, 
49th,  51st,  71st,  73d,  77th,  88th,  89th,  90th,  103d,  116th, 
118th,  130th,  142d,  and  143d  Psalms;  the  12th  chapter 
of  Ecclesiastes  ;  the  38th,  53d,  54th,  and  55th  chapters  of 
Isaiah;  the  last  three  chapters  of  Luke ;  the  14th  to  17th 
and  20th  chapters  of  John ;  the  8th  chapter  of  Romans ;  the 
15th  chapter  of  first  Corinthians;  the  5th  of  second  Corin- 
thians; the  4th  of  first  Thessalonians  ;  the  11th  and  12th  of 
Hebrews  ;  the  last  three  chapters  of  Revelation,  and  the  like. 

Direction  6.  Be  likewise  suitably  concerned  for  the  bodies  of 
your  friends,  when  they  are  sick. 

If  you  would  evidence  a  suitable  concern  for  them,  then 
you  must  deal  tenderly,  and  compassionately  with  them  in 
their  sickness,  bear  with  their  impatience  and  fretting,  weary 
not  of  them,  nor  grudge  at  the  trouble  they  put  you  to  ;  for 
shortly  you  yourselves  may  be  put  in  the  like  case,  when 
you  shall  be  as  great  a  trouble  to  others  as  your  friends  are 
now  to  you. 

It  is  also  necessary  to  employ  physicians,  and  use  the 
best  means  for  the  recovery  of  your  friend's  health.  The 
means  indeed  must  not  be  trusted  to  instead  of  God,  but 
used  in  subserviency  to  him,  who  hath  appointed  them,  and 
who  only  can  give  success  to  them.  We  must  beware  of 
Asa's  sin,  that  sought  to  the  physicians  and  not  to  the  Lord. 
Let  us  neither  take  food  nor  medicine  without  prayer  to  God 
for  his  blessing  thereon. 

Direction  7.  When  the  sickness  of  your  relations  or  neighbors 
doth  issue  in  death,  study  a  Christian  and  suitable  behavior 
under  such  a  dispensation. 

When  a  parent  loseth  a  promising  child,  or  a  child 
loseth  a  loving  parent,  or  when  death  deprives  us  of  any 


DUTIES  TO  FRIENDS  AND  NEiaHBORS.        237 

near  relation,  it  is  a  speaking  and  trying  providence  ;  and 
we  have  much  need  of  grace  and  counsel  from  God  to  con- 
duct aright  under  it.     Let  us  observe  these  advices: 

1 .  It  is  necessary  in  such  a  case  that  we  have  a  tender 
sense  and  feeling  of  God's  afflicting  hand.  There  are  two 
extremes  which  we  must  equally  avoid,  namely,  to  riiake 
light  of  the  death  of  relations,  and  to  be  excessively  grieved 
on  that  account.  God  will  have  us  neither  to  despise  his  rod 
nor  to  faint  under  it.  Heb.  12:5.  God  is  displeased  with 
those  who  are  stupid  and  insensible  under  such  afflictions. 
Hence  he  complains  of  such  :  "  I  have  smitten  them,  but  they 
have  not  grieved."  Jer.  5  :3.  God  will  have  us  feel  his 
hand,  inquire  into  the  meaning  of  the  rod,  and  search  for  those 
sins  that  have  provoked  God  to  smite  us.  It  is  a  sign  of  a 
selfish  and  unchristian  spirit  to  be  unconcerned  for  the  death 
of  friends,  and  much  more  is  it  so  in  those  children  who 
have  a  secret  satisfaction  in  the  death  of  parents,  because  of 
the  worldly  riches  or  liberty  which  they  get  thereby.  God 
often  follows  this  wicked  temper  with  his  heavy  judgments 
even  in  this  life. 

2.  Consider  that  God  is  calling  you  by  the  death  of 
others,  to  keep  up  lively  and  lasting  impressions  of  death  and 
eternity  upon  your  own  spirits.  God  knoweth  how  advan- 
tageous it  would  be  for  men  so  to  do,  and  therefore  he  sets 
frequent  spectacles  of  mortality  before  their  eyes  for  this  end. 
But  such  is  the  corruption  and  earthliness  of  our  minds,  that 
we  soon  forget  the  thoughts  of  death.  When  we  see  our 
friends  in  the  pangs  of  death,  or  laid  in  the  grave,  it  strikes 
us  with  some  fear  and  concern,  to  think  that  this  will  one 
day  be  our  own  case ;  but  no  sooner  is  the  dead  interred, 
and  the  grave  filled  up  again,  than  all  these  serious  thoughts 
begin  to  vanish,  and  men  return  to  their  sins  and  pleasures 
as  before.  Ah,  what  folly  is  this' I  Should  not  men  always 
keep  alive  the  serious  thoughts  of  death  and  a  future  state  ? 
Are  we  not  always  alike  mortal  ?     Are  we  not  as  liable  to 


238  AFFLICTED  MAN'S   COMPANION. 

death's  arrest  at  other  times,  as  when  examples  are  before 
our  eyes  ? 

3.  When  God  takes  away  your  children  or  relations,  let 
it  draw  your  hearts  and  affections  more  towards  God  and 
things  above.  As  when  a  shepherd  taketh  up  in  his  arms 
a  Idmb  of  the  flock,  the  ewe  followeth  him  of  her  own 
accord  and  will  not  leave  him  ;  so  when  the  great  Shepherd 
of  the  sheep  taketh  a  child  or  friend  from  you,  it  should 
cause  you  to  follow  after  him,  and  desire  to  be  with  him. 
But  one  may  say,  "  That  is  not  the  case  with  me ;  I  fear 
the  wolf  hath  got  the  straying  sheep,  and  devoured  it." 
Then  even  that  suspicion  should  make  you  run  to  the  good 
Shepherd,  abide  with  him,  and  keep  close  by  the  footsteps  of 
the  flock,  and  beware  of  straying  in  the  paths  wherein  de- 
stroyers go.  When  God  taketh  from  you  relations  whom 
you  dearly  loved,  he  calls  you  to  take  your  love  off  the 
fading  creature,  and  set  it  on  the  eternal  Creator ;  when  the 
weak  branch  is  lopped  off,  then  clasp  to  the  body  of  the  tree, 
which  will  not  fail  you. 

4.  In  such  trials,  study  a  humble  and  patient  submis- 
sion to  the  will  of  God,  who,  in  his  sovereign  wisdom  and 
pleasure,  hath  taken  your  child  or  friend  from  you.  Re- 
member who  hath  done  it,  even  He  who  gave  all  men 
their  lives,  and  hath  the  absolute  power  and  right  to  dis- 
pose of  men's  lives  as  he  thinks  best.  If  your  fellow-crea- 
ture do  any  thing  that  displeaseth  you,  you  may  both  ask 
who  did  it,  and  why  he  did  so  ?  But  when  God  doth  any 
thing  to  you,  you  must  remember  he  is  the  Potter  and  you 
are  the  clay,  and  that  he  may  make  or  mar  his  clay  vessels, 
yea,  break  them  in  pieces  at  his  pleasure ;  and  there  is 
none  can 'Stay  his  hand,  or  say  to  him.  What  doest  thou  ? 
"Be  still,  and  know  that  I>m  God."  Psa.  46  :  10.  The 
master  of  a  family  gathers  at  his  pleasure  the  flowers  and 
fruits  of  his  garden  :  sometimes  he  cuts  off  the  buds,  some- 
times he  suffers  them  to  blossom  ;  sometimes  he  gathers  the 


DUTIES   TO   FRIENDS  AND  NEIGHBORS.        239 

green  fruit,  sometimes  he  stays  till  they  are  ripe ;  and  every 
body  thinks  he  may  do  with  his  own  what  he  pleaseth ;  and 
shall  not  the  Almighty  God  have  liberty  much  more  to  dis- 
pose of  all  that  grows  in  his  own  territories  at  his  pleasure  ? 
The  master  of  the  family  hath  not  created  the  trees  and 
plants  of  his  garden,  but  God  hath  made  and  fashioned  all 
the  children  of  men  with  his  almighty  hand. 

It  is  the  sense  of  this  sovereign  right  and  dominion  of 
God  over  his  creatures,  that  hath  made  his  people  to  be 
silent  under  the  greatest  losses.  Hence  when  Aaron  lost 
his  two  sons  by  a  sudden  and  extraordinary  stroke,  it  is  said 
of  him,  "And  Aaron  held  his  peace."  Lev.  10:3.  He 
opened  not  his  mouth,  because  it  was  a  sovereign  God  that 
did  it.  So  holy  Job,  when  he  lost  all  his  children  by  one 
blow,  patiently  submits  to  this  absolute  Lord:  "The  Lord 
gave,  and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away ;  blessed  be  the  name 
of  the  Lord."  Job  1  :21.  Job  knew  that  God's  relation 
to  them  was  far  nearer  than  his,  and  his  right  to  dispose  of 
them  was  indisputable.  It  was  a  holy  and  excellent  speech 
of  that  honorable  person,  lord  Duplessis,  at  the  death  of  his 
only  son  :  "  I  could  not  have  borne  this  from  man,  but  I  can 
from  God." 

5.  Guard  against  immoderate  grief  and  excessive  sorrow 
for  the  death  of  children  or  near  relations ;  for  this  is  sinful 
and  offensive  to  God.  Grief  is  sinful  and  immoderate  when 
it  makes  you  grudge  at  God's  dispensation,  murmur  at  his 
will,  turn  unthankful  to  him  for  the  mercies  you  enjoy,  over- 
look past  favors,  or  lament  a  temporal  more  than  a  spiritual 
loss.  Alas,  there  are  many  who  can  bewail  a  dead  friend 
far  more  than  a  dead  heart,  and  the  loss  of  a  child  more  than 
the  loss  of  God's  countenance. 

Now,  for  preventing  this  excessive  sorrow,  consider  these 
things : 

(1.)  If  you  be  Christless  and  impenitent,  you  have  reason 
to  bless  God  that  the  stroke  was  not  at  your  own  life,  for 


240  AFFLICTED   MAN'S  COMPANION. 

then  you  had  been  eternally  miserable,  and  without  hope. 
What  is  the  temporal  loss  of  a  child  to  the  eternal  loss  of 
thine  own  soul?  0  it  is  far  better  to  be  childless  and 
friendless  on  earth,  than  to  be  hopeless  and  remediless  in 
hell. 

(2.)  Consider  how  little  ground  you  have  to  complain  of 
any  loss  or  stroke  you  meet  with  on  earth.  If  you  consider 
God's  sovereignty  and  poiver  over  you,  you  have  cause  to  be 
thankful  that  he  hath  not  annihilated  you  and  your  relations 
both  long  ere  now,  seeing  he  hath  as  full  a  dominion  to  re- 
duce you  to  nothing,  as  to  bring  you  from  nothing.  Though 
God  should  dash  us  against  the  walls,  as  a  potter  doth  his 
vessel,  no  man  could  have  reason  to  say,  What  dost  thou  ;  or 
why  dost  thou  use  me  so?  "0  house  of  Israel,  cannot  I  do 
with  you  as  this  potter?  saith  the  Lord."  Jer.  18:6.  Nay, 
he  hath  a  greater  right  to  deal  so  with  us,  than  a  potter  with 
his  vessel,  for  God  hath  contributed  all  to  his  creature  that 
it  hath;  but  the  potter  never  made  the  clay  which  is  the 
substance  of  the  vessel,  nor  the  water  that  is  needful  to 
make  it  tractable.  All  that  the  potter  doth,  is  only  to  mould 
the  clay  into  such  a  shape ;  besides,  the  potter's  body  is  no 
better  than  the  clay  he  makes  his  vessel  of;  nay,  perhaps 
that  very  clay  might  once  have  been  some  part  of  the  body 
of  a  man  as  good  as  the  potter  himself  Now,  shall  the 
potter  have  such  absolute  power  over  that  which  is  so  near 
alike  to  him,  and  shall  not  God  have  it  over  that  which  is 
infinitely  distant  from  him?  That  word,  Dan.  4  :  34,  35, 
"The  Most  High  doth  according  to  his  will,"  is  enough  to 
silence  the  murmurings  of  all  men  under  strokes  and  losses. 

If  you  view  the  hand  of  God  as  mo^i  just  and  righteous 
in  what  you  have  met  with,  you  have  no  good  ground  to 
complain.  Have  you  not  procured  all  this  to  yourself?  Is 
not  God  most  just  in  all  that  hath  come  upon  you  ?  Nay,  if 
you  consider  your  sins,  and  God's  absolute  dominion  over 
you,  you  must  own  he  might  have  dealt  with  you  in  a  se- 


DUTIES  OF  FRIENDS  AND  NEiaHBORS.        241 

verer  way  than  he  hath  done :  instead  of  one  affliction,  you 
might  have  had  a  thousand. 

Look  to  the  mercy  that  is  mixed  with  the  rod.  It  i&  a 
wonder  that  this  great  Sovereign,  who  is  so  provoked  by  us, 
should  allow  us  any  mercy  at  all;  and  yet  we  receive  innu- 
merable benefits  from.  him.  Whatever  be  our  afflictions, 
surely  they  are  far  less  than  our  iniquities  deserve.  Hath 
he  cast  your  child  into  the  grave?  he  might  justly  have 
thrown  your  soul  into  hell.  It  is  of  the  Lord's  mercies  you 
are  not  consumed.  Why  should  a  living  man  complain  ?  a 
man  out  of  a  grave,  and  out  of  hell  too,  hath  surely  no 
reason. 

If  you  compare  your  affliction  with  the  trials  of  others 
of  God's  people,  yea,  even  of  those  saints  who  have  been 
most  eminent,  you  have  no  reason  to  grudge  at  your  loss. 
You  have  one  child  dead,  but  Aaron,  who  is  called  the  saint 
of  the  Lord,  Psalm  106  :  16,  lost  two  at  a  stroke ;  nay.  Job, 
whom  God  commends  above  all  the  saints  in  his  day,  had 
all  his  children  slain  by  one  blow ;  and  both  these  eminent 
saints  had  these  losses  by  an  immediate  and  extraordinary 
stroke  from  God.  Some  godly  parents  have  seen  their  chil- 
dren live  to  prove  scandals  to  religion,  and  a  grief  of  mind 
to  themselves,  and  would  have  thought  it  a  mercy  if  God 
had  taken  them  away  when  young.  Say  not  then  that  there 
is  no  sorrow  like  your  sorrow ;  for  the  cup  which  many  others 
have  drunk,  hath  had  more  bitter  ingredients  in  it  than  yours. 

(3.)  Consider  that  excessive  grief  cannot  better  your 
case ;  it  may  well  make  it  worse.  If  you  struggle  and  con- 
tend under  God's  hand,  you  act  a  foolish  part — like  a  bullock 
unaccustomed  to  the  yoke,  that  by  his  struggHng  galls  his 
neck,  and  makes  the  yoke  the  more  uneasy;  or  like  a  bird 
fluttering  in  a  net,  that  instead  of  freeing,  doth  the  more 
entangle  itself  Thus  by  immoderate  sorrow  and  fretting 
under  the  stroke,  you  sin  the  more  against  God,  and  make 
your  burden  the  more  heavy. 

Affl.  Man's  Conip.  1  1 


242  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION; 

(4.)  Remember  the  transactions  of  your  soul  with  God 
in  the  day  you  entered  into  covenant  with  him.  When  you 
saw  yourself  on  the  brink  of ''hell,  and  a  burden  of  sin  press- 
ing you  down,  and  no  hope  for  you  but  in  Christ,  then  your 
cry  was,  "None  but  Christ :  take  children,  relations,  riches, 
and  all  things  else  from  me.  and  give  me  Christ.  I  give  up 
myself,  and  all  I  have,  to  be  disposed  of  at  thy  pleasure ;  thy 
will.  Lord,  shall  be  my  will."  Now,  God  is  taking  you  at 
your  word,  and  trying  your  sincerity  in  what  you  said  and 
professed  to  him  so  solemnly.  He  hath  disposed  of  thy  dear 
relation  as  pleased  him :  0,  believer,  dost  thou  rue  the  bar- 
gain ;  wouldst  thou  take  thy  word  again  ?  Where  is  thy  cov- 
enanted submission  to  the  will  of  God,  and  thy  promised 
contentment  with  all  his  disposals? 

(5.)  Dost  thou  not  believe  that  a  covenanted  God  is 
better  to  thee  than  all  the  friends  in  the  world  ?  Cannot  God 
soon  make  up  the  greatest  loss  to  thee,  if  thou  turn  to  him 
by  prayer,  and  pour  out  thy  heart  and  sorrows  in  his  bosom? 
A  smile  of  God's  face  in  prayer  can  soon  sweeten  thy  bitter 
cup,  and  make  thee  forget  all  thy  sorroM^s :  "In  the  multi- 
tude of  my  thoughts  within  me,  thy  comforts  delight  my 
soul."  Psalm  94 :  19.  The  author  of  the  Fulfilling  of  the 
Scriptures  tells  us  of  one  Patrick  Macilwrse,  an  eminent 
saint  in  the  west  of  Scotland,  who  having  lost  his  dear  and 
only  son,  got  to  his  closet,  and  there  poured  out  his  soul  to 
the  Lord.  When  he  at  length  came  out  to  his  friends,  who 
were  waiting  to  comfort  him  and  fearing  how  he  would  take 
such  a  heavy  stroke,  he  returned  from  prayer  with  a  cheer- 
ful countenance,  and  told  some  of  his  friends  who  asked  him 
the  reason  of  his  cheerfulness,  that  "he  had  got  that  in  his 
retirement  mth  the  Lord,  that  to  have  it  afterwards  renewed, 
he  would  be  content  to  lose  a  son  every  day." 

(6.)  Seriously  consider  that  you  are  but  a  few  days'  jour- 
ney behind  him  for  whom  you  mourn,  and  that  you  will 
quickly  overtake  him,  and  be  with  him  again.     This  allayed 


DUTIES  OF   FRIENDS  AND  NEiaHBORS.        243 

David's  sorrow  for  his  child:  "I  shall  go  to  him."  2  Sam. 
12  :  23.  It  is  our  expecting  to  live  here,  to  enjoy  the  comfort 
of  relations,  that  commonly  makes  us  grieve  so  much  for 
their  death  ;  for  if  we  looked  on  ourselves  as  men  that  were 
to  die  in  a  few  days,  we  should  not  be  so  troubled  for  our 
friends  that  are  gone  but  a  little  space  before  us. 

(7.)  If  your  friends  are  gone  to  heaven,  you  have  more 
reason  to  rejoice  with  them  than  to  mourn  for  them ;  seeing 
they  are  unspeakably  happier  where  they  now  are,  than  they 
could  have  been  with  you.  It  is  the  most  fervent  desire  and 
wish  of  every  true  Christian  to  be»in  heaven ;  and  will  you 
grieve  because  God  hath  taken  your  relations  thither,  where 
you  desire  to  be  yourself  above  all  things?'  As  Christ  said 
to  his  disciples  before  his  death,  "If  ye  loved  me,  ye  would 
rejoice  because  I  said,  I  go  unto  the  Father."  John  14  :  28. 
So,  if  your  departed  friend  could  speak  to  you  from  heaven, 
he  would  say,  "If  ye  loved  me  with  a  pure  spiritual  love, 
ye  would  rejoice  that  I  am  gone  to  my  Father,  where  I  am 
more  happy  than  you  can  possibly  conceive  of  me." 

Objection.  Had  I  ground  to  think  that  my  friend  is 
gone  to  heaven,  it  would  ease  me  ;  but,  alas,  I  fear  it  is 
otherwise. 

Answer  1.  It  doth  not  belong  to  us  to  inquire  into  the 
eternal  state  and  condition  of  those  who  are  gone  off  the 
stage.  Those  secret  things  belong  to  God,  who  exerciseth 
his  mercy  or  justice  towards  sinners  according  to  his  sov- 
ereign will. 

2.  Supposing  the  worst,  you  ought  to  submit  to  the 
uncontrollable  sovereignty  of  God,  who  hath  mercy  on  whom 
he  will  have  mercy,  and  whom  he  will  he  hardeneth.  "  He 
is  of  one  mind,  and  who  can  turn  him  ?"  The-  Lord  cut  off 
Aaron's  two  sons  in  the  very  act  of  sin  and  rebellion  against 
him,  and  yet  Aaron  held  his  peace,  and  so  ought  you. 

3.  Whatever  be  the  lot  of  others  hereafter,  you  have 
reason  to  be  thankful  to  God,  for  his  distinguishing  mercy  in 


244  AFFLICTED  MAN'S   COMPANION. 

saving  you  from  those  flames  that  others  fail  into,  and  giving 
you  good  hope  through  grace  of  glorifying  God  above  for 
ever. 

Direction  8.  Let  the  sickness  and  death  of  others  be  a  warning 
to  you  in  time  of  health  to  make  due  preparation  for  the  time 
of  sickness  and  of  dying  which  is  before  you. 

When  you  see  your  friends  and  neighbors  in  a  sickly, 
weak,  or  dying  condition,  the  language  of  the  dispensation 
to  you  that  are  in  health  is,  prepare  for  sickness  also.  Nay, 
the  feeble  voice  of  the  sick  doth  proclaim  this  warning  as 
loudly  as  if  they  should,  lift  up  their  voice  like  a  trumpet^ 
and  say  to  you,  "  Remember  that  you  must  lie  in  the  same 
case  ere  long ;  you  also  must  groan  under  pain,  lose  your 
strength  and  beauty,  leave  your  mirth  and  company,  bid 
adieu  to  all  the  world,  and  look  out  for  the  grim  messenger 
death,  that  is  coming  to  dissolve  your  earthly  tabernacle, 
send  your  body  to  lie  in  a  putrefying  grave,  and  your  soul  to 
fetand  before  God's  tribunal,  to  be  sentenced  to  an  endless 
state."  This  will  be  thy  case,  0  young  man,  strong  man, 
healthful  man,  as  really  in  a  little  time  as  it  is  of  those  now 
before  your  eyes.  0  how  soon  will  it  come  ;  what  thoughts 
will  you  then  have  of  the  world,  of  sin,  and  vain  company. 
Will  any  thing  comfort  you  then  but  the  favor  of  God,  the 
love  of  Christ,  and  the  review  of  a  holy,  well-spent  life  ? 
Wherefore  do  with  all  thy  might  now  what  thy  hands  find 
to  do,  employ  the  time  of  health  well  in  preparing  for  sick- 
ness, and  leave  nothing  to  do  at  that  time,  which  is  the  most 
unfit  season  for  a  man  to  do  the  work  of  salvation  in . 

I  shall  begin  with  advices  to  the  family  into  which  the 
harbingers  of  death  have  come.  Surely  the  warnings  of 
sickness  and  death  ought  to  be  louder  in  your  ears  than 
others,  and  most  diligently  hearkened  unto  by  you,  that 
lodge  under  the  same  roof  with  the  messengers  of  the  king 
of  terrors. 

1.  Remember  that  word,  1  Peter,  5  :  6,  "Humble  your- 


DUTIES  OF  FRIENDS  AND  NEIG-HBORS.        245 

selves  therefore  under  the  mighty  hand  of  God."  It  well 
becomes  guilty  sinners,  all  ye  members  of  the  family,  to  be 
humble  before  a  holy  God,  when  he  is  smiting  any  of  them. 
Humbly  acknowledge  his  sovereignty  and  absolute  dominion 
over  you,  saying,  "  Lord,  thou  art  the  author  and  founder  of 
families,  and  thou  mayest  afflict  and  punish  them  as  thou 
thinkest  fit.  Thou  settest  the  solitary  in  families,  and  raul- 
tipliest  their  number ;  and  thou  mayest  diminish  them,  yea, 
lay  them  desolate,  according  to  thy  pleasure.  Thou  might- 
est  have  made  all  the  members  of  the  family  sick,  as  well  as 
one ;  thou  mightest  have  given  a  deadly  blow  to  parents, 
children,  and  servants  at  once,  yea,  have  made  the  house  in 
which  we  live  a  common  grave,  and  buried  us  all  together 
in  its  ruins."  Humbly  acknowledge  the  justice  and  mercy 
of  God  in  the  present  visitation  :  "  Lord,  instead  of  one,  we 
all  deserved  to  be  thrown  on  sick-beds,  and  all  of  us  to  have 
been  smitten  to  death.  Thou  punishest  us  less  than  our 
iniquities  deserve."  Acknowledge  also  God's  wisdom  and 
love  in  the  present  affliction,  and  humbly  submit  to  take  the  , 
cup  which  he  hath  mingled  for  you.  "  The  cup  which  our 
heavenly  Father  hath  ordered  for  this  family,  shall  we  not 
drink  it  ?  It  is  a  wise  and  gracious  God  that  doth  what  is 
done  in  the  family ;  therefore  it  is  our  part  to  be  dumb,  and 
not  to  open  our  mouths  to  quarrel  with  it." 

2.  The  command  which  the  king  of  Nineveh  gave  to  all 
his  subjects,  when  threatened  with  ruin,  Jonah  3  :  8,  is  very 
proper  for  a  master  of  a  family  to  give  to  all  under  his  charge, 
when  sickness  doth  range  among  them  :  "  Fast,  and  cry 
mightily  to  God,  and  turn  every  one  from  his  evil  way: 
who  can  tell  if  God  will  turn  away  from  his  fierce  anger, 
that  we  perish  not?"  When  the  destroying  angel  gets  a 
commission  to  smite  families  with  mortal  and  infectious  dis- 
eases, which  sometimes  go  from  house  to  house  like  a  plague, 
sweeping  many,  old  and  young,  off  the  stage ;  then  espe- 
cially it  should  be  a  time  of  mighty  crying  and  pleading  with 


246  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

God  for  mercy,  and  since  our  pleading  is  wholly  ineffectual 
without  an  atoning  sacrifice  to  incensed  justice,  let  us  not 
forget  to  bring  the  all-sufficient  sacrifice  of  Christ's  blood 
along  with  us,  and  plead  it  with  God  for  averting  his  wrath 
from  our  houses  and  families.  As  Moses  said  to  Aaron  in  a 
time  of  common  calamity,  so  may  I  say  to  you  that  are  heads 
of  families,  "T^ke  a  censer  and  incense,  and  go  quickly  and 
make  atonement  for  them  ;  for  there  is  wrath  gone  out  from 
the  Lord  ;  the  plague  is  begun."  Numbers  6  :  46.  Bring 
the  incense  of  Christ's  satisfaction,  that  great  atonement  to 
divine  justice,  which  was  typified  by  the  legal  sacrifices  and 
oblations.  Humbly  and  earnestly  plead  that  great  sacrifice 
with  God,  for  turning  away  the  fierceness  of  his  wrath.  Get 
the  bunch  of  hyssop,  faith,  in  order  to  the  sprinkling  of  your 
houses  with  that  atoning  blood,  that  so  you  and  your  famihes 
may  be  among  the  preserved  in  Jesus  Christ. 

3.  Let  all  the  family  where  sicjtness  is,  and  especially 
the  head  of  it,  remember  that  word,  "  Thou  shalt  put  away 
iniquity  far  from  thy  tabernacles,"  Job  22  :  23.  God  hath 
sent  sickness  with  this  message  to  you :  *"  Search  out  family 
sins,  whether  of  omission  or  commission  ;  mourn  over  them, 
turn  from  them,  banish  them  far  away.  Let  no  vice  lodge 
under  your  roof  Let  family  worship  be  no  more  neglected, 
nor  slightly  performed.  Let  God  have  both  the  morning  and 
evening  sacrifice."  Now,  if  the  members  of  those  families 
visited  with  sickness,  who  are  in  health  for  the  present, 
would  thus  humble  themselves,  cry  to  God,  plead  the  blood 
of  Christ,  and  reform  what  is  amiss  among  them,  the  pres- 
ent affliction  would  be  sanctified,  and  they  m  some  measure 
prepared  for  the  like  trial,  when  God  shall  be  pleased  to  put 
the  cup  in  their  hands. 

n.  In  the  next  place,  let  me  warn  all  the  friends  and 
NEIGHBORS  of  the  sick,  whether  they  be  of  the  family  or  not, 
to  improve  the  day  of  health  in  making  ready  for  the  time 


DUTIES   OF   FRIENDS  AND   NEiaHBORS.        247 

of  sickness.  Be  much  in  the  exercise  of  self-examination, 
humihation  for  sin,  believing  in  Christ,  renewing  covenant 
with  God,  mortifying  of  sin,  trimming  the  lamp,  meditating 
upon  heaven,  living  by  faith,  denying  the  world,  studying  to 
overcome  the  love  of  life  and  the  fear  of  death — concerning 
all  which  I  have  given  directions  in  the  foregoing  chapters  of 
this  book,  when  speaking  to  the  sick  and  distressed.  These 
exercises  are  not  only  proper  for  the  sick,  but  also  for  those 
in  health ;  and  are  suitable  preparations  for  sickness  and 
death,  to  be  studied  by  all  men  in  every  condition.  But 
there  are  some  things  further,  most  necessary  to  be  minded 
by  people  in  time  of  their  health,  in  order  to  prepare  them 
for  the  time  of  sickness  and  of  dying,  before  it  come. 
And, 

1 .  Make  your  will  and  keep  it  by  you,  that  you  may  not 
be  encumbered  with  worldly  affairs  in  time  of  sickness,  or 
at  a  dying  hour.  Surely  it  is  great  wisdom  to  attend  to  this 
in  time  of  health.  But  I  have  spoken  largely  of  this  in 
Chapter  I.,  Direction  6. 

3.  Take  heed  in  time  of  health,  that  you  lay  not  up 
sad  provision  against  the  day  of  sickness  by  your  careless 
walk.  As  it  is  sin  that  brings  sickness  upon  us,  so  it  is  sin 
that  imbitters  it  unto  us.  Oh  beware  of  all  known  sins, 
and  particularly  the  sins  of  earthly-mindedness,  unthankful- 
ness  for  mercies,  lukewarmness  in  religion,  neglect  to  follow 
Christ,  neglect  of  prayer  and  formality  in  it,  quenching  of 
the  Spirit,  falling  from  your  first  love,  breach  of  vows,  abus- 
ing signal  mercies,  sinning  after  afflictions,  turning  to  old 
sins.  Guard  against  these  evils  now  in  the  time  of  health, 
otherwise  they  will  put  thorns  in  your  pillow  when  sickness 
Cometh.  Dare  not  to  live  in  such  a  course  as  you  would  not 
venture  to  die  in.  How  do  you  know  but  your  next  step 
may  be  into  the  grave ;  and  would  you  be  willing  to  lie 
down  there  in  your  sins  with  earthly,  dead,  formal,  wan- 
dering, and  unbelieving  hearts  ? 


248  AFFLICTED  MAN^S   COMPANION. 

3.  Sit  loose  from  the  world,  and  live  as  a  stranger  in  it, 
that  you  may  be  ready  and  willing  to  be  gone  from  it  on  a 
short  warning.  Let  death  find  you  dead  beforehand — dead 
to  the  world.  -  If  your  affections  be  glued  to  the  world,  it 
will  be  a  violent  rending  and  sad  parting  you  will  have  with 
it  when  the  dying  hour  cometh.  You  will  be  ready,  lilie 
Lot's  wife,  to  linger,  hanker,  and  look  greedily  back  again. 

4.  Keep  short  reckonings  with  God  and  conscience,  that 
you  may  not  have  old  scores  to  settle  when  you  come  to  a 
death-bed.  Oh  what  stinging  pain  and  torment  may  one 
sin  unmburned  for  cost  you  at  that  time.  Let  conscience 
bring  in  the  accounts  every  day  before  you  sleep,  and  speed- 
ily take  up  every  controversy  that  may  arise  between  God 
and  thy  soul. 

5.  Dwell  much  upon  the  thoughts  of  death,  that  you 
may  learn  to  be  acquainted  and  familiar  with  it,  as  Job 
was,  who  said  beforehand  to  corruption,  "  Thou  art  my  father, 
and  to  the  worm,  thou  art  my  mother  and  my  sister."  Job 
17  :  14.  For  this  cause  the  Egyptians  used  to  place  a  dead 
man's  skull  in  some  conspicuous  place  of  their  rooms ;  the 
Jews  likewise  had  their  sepulchres  in  their  gardens  of  pleas- 
ure, that  so  in  the  midst  of  their  delights  they  might  think 
on  their  dying  time.  We  read  of  Philip  king  of  Macedon, 
that  he  ordered  a  page  every  morning  to  rouse  him  from 
sleep  with  these  words,  "0  king,  remember  thou  art  a  mor- 
tal man."  By  this  oft-repeated  lesson  he  labored  to  humble 
his  lofty  mind,  and  make  his  acquaintance  with  death,  that 
it  rnight  not  seem  strange  or  surprising  to  him  when  it 
should  actually  come  and  snatch  him  away. 

6.  Study  to  spend  every  day  as  if  it  were  to  be  your  last, 
and  perform  every  duty  as  if  it  were  the  last,  always  look- 
ing on  sickness  and  death  as  very  near.  That  which  makes 
most  men  so  unconcerned  about  sickness,  death,  and  eternity 
is,  they  view  them  as  things  afar  off — at  thirty  or  forty  years' 
distance.     They  think  their  time  will  be  long  here  ;  why  ? 


DUTIES  OF  FRIENDS   AND   NEIGHBORS.        249 

they  are  healthy,  of  a  strong  constitution,  and  their  fathers 
lived  so  long :  which  surely  are  false  rules  to  judge  hy. 
It  was  the  expectation  of  many  years  that  helped  on  the 
min  of  that  rich  fool  in  the  gospel.  It  were  far  better  for 
every  man  to  look  on  himself  as  standing  every  day  and 
night  at  the  door  of  eternity,  and  hundreds  of  diseases  ready 
to  open  the  door  and  let  him  in.  When  you  lie  down  at 
night,  leave  your  heart  with  Christ,  and  compose  your  spirits 
60  as  if  you  were  not  to  awake  till  the  heavens  are  no  more ; 
for  certainly  that  night  cometh  of  which  you  will  never  see 
the  morning,  or  that  morning  of  which  you  will  never  see 
the  night.  But  which  of  your  mornings  or  nights  this  will 
be  you  know  not,  seeing  your  times  are  not  in  your  own 
hands. 

7.  Set  apart  some  time  daily  for  thinking,  in  a  retired 
way,  upon  your  time  that  is  past,  and  upon  eternity  that  is 
to  come.  The  neglect  of  this  duty  of  meditation  and  retired 
thinking  is  very  injurious,  both  to  the  godly  and  ungodly. 
It  was  David's  practice  to  think,  and  to  think  upon  his 
ways  ;  which  engaged  him  to  reform  whatever  he  found 
amiss  in  them.  Psa.  119  :  59.  Oh  it  is  the  ruin  of  many 
a  soul — they  are  utter  strangers  to  this  way  of  thinking.  I 
have  read  of  a  father,  who  on  his  death-bed  left  it  as  a  sol- 
emn charge  upon  his  only  son,  who  was  a  prodigal,  that  he 
should  spend  a  quarter  of  an  hour  every  day  in  retired  think- 
ing, and  let  him  choose  any  subject  he  pleased.  The  son 
thinks  this  an  easy  task,  undertakes  it,  and  after  his  father's 
death  sets  himself  to  perform  his  promise.  One  day  he 
thinks  upon  his  past  pleasures ;  another  day  he  contrives 
his  future  delights ;  after  a  while  he  begins  to  think  seri- 
ously what  might  be  his  father's  design  in  laying  this  task 
upon  him ;  at  length  he  thinks,  his  father  was  a  wise  and 
good  man,  therefore  surely  he  intended  and  hoped  that 
among  the  rest  of  his  meditations  he  would  some  time  or 
other  think  of  religion.     When  this  had  truly  possessed  his 

11* 


250  AFFLICTED  MAN'S   COMPANION. 

thoughts,  one  thought  and  question  comes  upon  the  back  of 
another  about  his  past  life  and  future  state,  so  that  he  could 
not  content  himself  with  so  short  a  confinement,  but  was  all 
that  night  without  sleep ;  yea,  and  afterwards  could  have 
no  rest  till  he  became  seriously  religioxis.  Oh  that  I  could 
persuade  all  careless  and  unthinking  souls  to  go  and  do  like- 
wise. Ah,  how  many  spend  their  days  in  a  hurry  about 
their  worldly  affairs,  and  perish  for  want  of  thinking. 

8.  Among  other  subjects  of  your  retired  thoughts,  spend 
some  time  in  thinking  how  awful  and  terrible  a  thing  it 
must  be  for  a  poor  Christless  soul  to  make  its  appearance 
before- an  angry  God  after  death.  "For  who  can  dwell 
with  devouring  fire  ;  who  can  abide  with  everlasting  burn- 
ings ?"  1  have  read  of  a  certain  king  of  Hungary,  who 
being  at  one  time  extremely  sad  and  heavy,  his  brother, 
who  was  a  brisk  and  gallant  man,  insisted  to  know  the  rea- 
son :  "  Oh,  brother,"  says  he,  "  I  have  been  a  great  sinner 
against  God,  and  I  know  not  how  I  shall  appear  before  his 
judgment-seat."  His  brother  answered,  "These  are  but 
melancholy  thoughts;"  and  so  made  light  of  them,  as  most 
courtiers  used  to  do.  The  king  replied  nothing  at  that  time ; 
but  the  custom  of  that  country  was,  if  the  executioner 
sounded  a  trumpet  at  a  man's  door,  he  was  presently  to  be 
led  to  execution.  The  king  sent  the  executioner  in  the  dead 
of  the  night,  and  caused  him  to  sound  his  trumpet  at  his 
brother's  door,  who  hearing  and  seeing  the  messenger  of 
death,  sprang  in  trembling  into  his  brother's  presence,  falls 
down  upon  his  knees,  and  beseeches  the  king  to  let  him 
know  wherein  he  had  offended  him.  "Oh,  brother,"  said 
the  king,  "you  never  offended  me,  but  loved  me.  But  is  the 
sight  of  an  earthly  executioner  so  terrible  to  thee  ;  and  shall 
not  I,  who  am  so  great  a  sinner,  fear  much  more  to  be 
brought  to  the  judgment-seat  of  an  angry  God?" 

9.  Think  often  how  religiously  men  wish  they  had  lived 
when  they  come  to  the  time  of  sickness  and  death.     Those 


DUTIES  OF  FRIENDS  AND  NEiaHBORS.        251 

who  have  speiit  their  time  most  carelessly,  begin  to  have 
other  notions  of  religion  when  they  see  the  grim  messenger 
approaching.  Go  to  their  bedsides,  and  ask  them  whether 
sloth  or  diligence,  formality  or  fervency,  drinking  or  praying, 
loving  the  world  or  loving  Christ,  be  the  best ;  would  they 
not  tell  you,  that  there  are  none  so  wise  as  they  that  are 
most  religious?  Think,  0  man,  think  with  thyself,  if  thou 
wert  now  upon  thy  death-bed,  and  sawest  thy  friends  stand 
mourning  about  thee,  but  unable  to  help  thee,  what  would 
be  thy  thoughts  and  discourse  at  that  time  ?  Oh,  then,  let 
some  of  the  same  thoughts  and  discourse  fill  up  every  day 
and  hour  of  thy  life  now.  Thou  knowest  not  but  this  mo- 
ment thou  mayest  be  as  near  death,  as  if  thy  friends  and 
physicians  were  despairing  of  thy  life,  and  had  given  thee 
over  for  dead. 

10.  Be  employed  now  in  fighting  the  good  fight  of  faith. 
You  have  many  enemies  to  contend  with,  and  death  is  the 
last  of  them.  'Would  you  obtain  the  victory  over  them  ? 
Then  get  on  the  Christian  armor,  and  make  much  use  of 
the  shield  of  faith.  We  read  in  the  book  of  Esther,  that 
king  Ahasuerus  would  not  recall  the  proclamation  he  had 
emitted  against  the  Jews,  but  he  gave  them  full  liberty  to 
take  up  arms  to  defend  themselves  and  attack  their  ene- 
mies ;  so  here,  God  will  not  recall  the  sentence  of  death  he 
passed  upon  all  men,  in  the  garden ;  nevertheless,  he  allows, 
yea,  commissions  all  true  Israelites  to  take  up  arms  against 
death,  to  conquer  and  trample  it  under  foot  by  faith. 

11.  Be  busy  now  in  health,  providing  and  laying  up  a 
stock  against  the  time  of  sickness  and  affliction,  which  may 
contribute  to  your  comfortable  living  then,  when  the  world's 
good  things  will  be  tasteless  and  comfortless  to  you.  As  those 
who  have  a  voyage  to  make  victual  their  ship,  and  those 
who  have  a  siege  to  hold  take  in  provisions,  even  so  do  ye. 

Get  a  stock  of  graces  against  that  time,  especially  a  stock 
of  faith,  of  patience,  of  humihty,  self  denial,  etc.     There  will 


J^52  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

be  use  for  all  these  then.  A  little  grace,  or  a  little  faith,  is 
not  enough  ;  for  this  will  faint  under  afflictions.  We  read, 
that  when  the  winds  began  to  blow  fiercely,  Peter's  little 
faith  began  to  fail.  You  have  need  of  a  great  measure  of 
patience  against  that  time,  that  you  may  wait  quietly  on 
God  till  he  come  to  your  relief  You  know  not  but  he  may 
lengthen  out  your  trials,  and  tarry  till  the  fourth  watch  of 
the  night  before  he  come  with  deliverance.' 

Provide  a  stock  of  evidences  of  grace,  and  of  the  love  of 
God,  that  you  may  be  able  to  assert  your  interest  in  him  as 
your  portion  in  Christ,  and  may  be  persuaded  that  neither 
death  nor  life  will  ever  separate  you  from  him. 

Get  a  stock  of  divine  experiences.  Lay  up  all  the  expe- 
riences you  have  had  of  God's  loving-kindness,  and  these 
will  give  great  relief  and  encouragement  to  the  soul  in  the 
day  of  distress. 

Lay  up  a  stock  of  sermons.  Treasure  up  the  counsels 
and  Cordials  which  they  bring  you  from  God'^s  word,  that  so 
you  may,  according  to  Isa.  42  :  23,  "  hear  for  the  time  to 
come,"  and  especially  for  the  time  of  sickness,  when  you 
cannot  get  sermons  to  hear.  Then  it  is  that  you  ought  to 
live  and  feed  upon  the  sermons  you  have  heard. 

Lay  up  a  stock  oi prayers.  Be  much  in  wrestling  with 
God  for  help  and  support  in  the  day  of  affliction,  and  so  you 
may  expect  gracious  answers  to  your  prayer  in  the  day  of 
calamity. 

Provide  a  stock  of  promises.  G  ather  now  these  sweet 
cordials  from  God's  word,  and  lay  them  up  in  your  heart 
and  memory,  and  they  will  be  very  refreshing  and  support- 
ing to  you  in  the  day  of  affliction. 

Direction  9.  Let  those  who  are  in  health  set  about  the  work  of 
repentance  and  turning  to  God  in  Christ  quickly;  and  beware 
of  delaying  this  work  until  the  time  of  sickness  and  dying. 
God's  command  to  you  is,  to  set  about  the  work  pres- 
ently, without  any  delay  :  "  To-day  if  ye  will  hear  his  voice, 


IMMEDIATE    REPENTANCE.  253 

harden  not  your  hearts."  Heb.  3  :  7,  8.  "Go,  work  to- 
day in  my  vineyaitl."  Matt.  21  :  28.  "  Remember  now  thy 
Creator  in  the  days  of  thy  youth."  Eccles.  11  :  1.  Well, 
God's  voice  to  you,  0  man  in  health,  is,  "  To-day  ;"  but  the 
devil's  voice  to  you  is,  "  To-morrow."  And  which  of  the 
two  will  you  hearken  to  ?  Surely  it  is  your  wisdom  to  obey 
the  voice  of  your  Creator  and  friend,  and  not  of  your  enemy 
and  destroyer.  Why  ?  To-day  thou  art  in  health — to-morrow 
thou  mayest  be  in  sickness ;  to-day  thou  art  on  earth — to-mor- 
row thou  mayest  be  in  hell ;  to-day  Christ  is  inviting  you  to 
come  to  him — to-morrow  he  may  be  sentencing  you  to  depart 
from  him  :  and  consider,  that  the  devil  who  tempts  you  to 
delay  this  day,  will  be  as  ready  to  tempt  you  to  the  same  to- 
morrow, and  so  the  devil's  to-morrow  will  never  come.  It 
will  still  be  to-morrow  with  him  to  the  last  hour,  that  so  he 
may  get  you  cheated  out  of  your  whole  time  and  salvation 
together. 

Here  I  shall  endeavor  to  bring  arguments  to  persuade 
you  to  repent  and  close  with  the  offers  of  Christ  presently, 
without  delay,  as  God  requires  ;  and  to  show  the  evil  and 
danger  of  delaying  till  the  time  of  sickness  and  dying.  As 
to  the  first,  namely,  arguments  for  present  repentance, 
and  against  delaying  the  work, 

1.  Consider  the  uncertainty  of  your  life  and  time  to  re- 
pent. Your  life  is  but  a  vapor — a  little  warm  breath  that 
is  going  out  and  in  at  your  nostrils,  which  may  be  stopped 
by  death  ere  you  be  aM^are  :  "  Thou  knowest  not  what  a  day 
may  bring  forth."  Prov.  27  :  1 .  It  was  the  saying  of  a  godly 
man,  when  invited  to  a  feast  upon  the  morrow,  "  I  have  not 
had  a  morrow  for  these  many  years."  It  was  a  bad  use  the 
epicures  made  of  this  uncertainty :  "  Let  us  eat  and  drink  ; 
for  to-morrow  we  shEill  die."  Isa.  22:  13.  It  is  ^  much 
wiser  to  say,  "  Let  us  pray,  and  turn  to  the  Lord  ;  for  to- 
morrow we  shall  die."  Nay,  you  have  not  security  for  one 
hour  to  repent  in ;  for  God  hath  a  thousand  diseases  and  ac- 


254  AFFLICTED   MAN'S  COMPANION. 

cidents  ready  to  stop  your  breath  and  end  your  days  when- 
ever he  pleaseth  to  give  them  orders.  There  are  many 
secure  sinners  who  presume  on  long  hfe,  but  there  are  none 
nearer  destruction  than  such,  for  God  is  wont  to  disappoint 
those  that  promise  themselves  a  long  life  in  sin  and  impeni- 
tency,  as  he  did  that  rich  man  who  was  laying  up  for  many 
years  :  "  This  night  thy  soul  shall  be  required  of  thee." 
Luke  12  :  19.  And  0  what  a  dark  and  dismal  night  will 
it  be,  if  death  come  before  thy  repentance.  0  man,  thou 
never  didst  lie  down  one  night  with  assurance  of  rising 
again  ;  thou  never  heardst  one  sermon  with  assurance  of 
hearing  another ;  thou  never  didst  draw  one  breath  with 
assurance  of  drawing  another.  What  madness  then  to  de- 
lay salvation  one  day  or  hour  longer,  and  so  to  leave  the 
weightiest  matter  in  the  world  at  the  greatest  uncertainty. 

2.  Consider  that  though  God  in  wonderful  mercy  and 
patience  should  prolong  your  days,  yet  the  longest  life  is 
short  enough  for  the  work  you  have  to  do,  even  if  you  begin 
it  now.  Nay,  had  you  Methuselah's  years  to  spend,  they 
would  be  no  more  than  sufficient  to  repent  and  mourn  for 
the  sins  and  guilt  which  you  have  been  so  long  contracting, 
to  reff)rm  and  amend  the  many  things  that  have  been  amiss, 
to  perform  all  the  duties  incumbent  on  you,  to  make  sure 
your  calling  and  election,  and  put  your  soul  in  a  good  pos- 
ture and  preparation  for  an  eternal  state,  and  get  it  made 
meet  to  be  partaker  of  the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light. 
Now,  do  you  think  that  all  this  work  can  be  done  in  an 
instant,  or  in  a  time  of  sickness  or  old-age,  when  you  are 
hardly  fit  to  do  any  thing  ?  When  a  man's  spirit  is  unable 
to  bear  the  infirmities  of  nature,  how  will  he  be  able  to  bear 
the  lashes  of  a  guilty  conscience  or  a  wounded  spirit  ? 
When  the  understanding  is  weak,  the  memory  frail,  the  will 
obstinately  bent  the  wrong  way  by  a  long  custom  of  sinning 
and  neglecting  of  duty,  will  that  be  a  fit  time  to  begin  the 
work  of  repentance  and  conversion  to  God  ?     When  nature 


IMMEDIATE    REPENTANCE.  255 

is  decayed,  and  the  candle  of  life  just  sinking  in  the  socket, 
will  you  begin  then  to  act  for  God,  and  make  your  light 
shine  before  men  to  his  glory?  0  remember  your  work  is 
long,  your  time  is  short,  and  though  you  begin  this  very  hour 
you  will  have  no  time  to  spare. 

3.  Delay  not  this  work,  because  it  is  not  of  yourself  only 
to  do  it  when  you  please.  It  is  a  delusion  of  the  devil  to 
imagine  you  may  thus  repent  when  you  will.  No,  no  ;  it  is 
God  that  giveth  repentance,  and  he  gives  it  when  and  to 
whom  he  pleaseth.  Acts  5:31.  And  it  is  a  mere  perad- 
venture  if  ever  he  give  it  to  a  delaying  sinner.  2  Tim. 
2  :  25.  When  is  it  that  you  may  have  hopes  he  will  give 
repentance,  but  when  he  calls  you  to  it,  and  prescribes 
means  to  be  used  for  that  end  ?  Now,  that  is,  to-day,  *'  To- 
day, if  you  will  hear, his  voice  :  now  is  the  day  of  salvation." 
To-day,  when  God  is  calling  and  the  Spirit  striving,  is  the 
time  of  finding  the  Lord  and  getting  repentance  from  him. 
To-morrow  it  may  be  too  late;  the  Lord's  hand  may  be 
closed,  and  the  door  of  mercy  be  shut.  If  you  refuse  the 
Spirit  when  he  strives  with  you,  he  may  leave  you  and 
never  put  in  your  heart  another  serious  thought  of  turning 
to  the  Lord.  0  defer  not  seeking  repentance  till  it  be  too 
late ;  for  there  is  a  time  when  the  Lord  will  Hot  be  found, 
and  then  repentance  will  not  be  obtained,  though  you  seek 
it  with  tears.  Indeed  God  hath  promised  mercy  to  penitent 
sinners,  but  he  hath  nowhere  promised  the  aids  of  his  grace 
and  Spirit  to  them  that  put  off  their  repentance ;  and  he 
hath  nowhere  promised  acceptance  to  mere  grief  and  sorrow 
for  sin,  without  faith  and  fruits  meet  for  repentance.  He 
hath  nowhere  promised  to  pardon  those  who  only  promise 
to  leave  their  sins  when  they  can  keep  them  no  longer. 

4.  The  longer  repentance  and  closing  with  Christ  is 
delayed,  the  difficulty  thereof  is  every  day  increased.  Why  ? 
1.  Because  of  the  deceitful  nature  of  sin,  which  doth  daily 
bewitch  and  harden  the  heart  more  and  more  in  the  practice 


256  AFFLICTED  MAN'S  COMPANION. 

of  it.  2.  Custom  in  any  thing  hath  a  strong  influence  on 
us  ;  it  becomes  a  kind  of  second  nature  and  breeds  an  almost 
invincible  inclination  to  whatever  we  have  long -addicted 
ourselves  to,  whether  it  be  in  actions  natural  or  moral. 
Hence  even  a  heathen  poet  gives  this  good  advice  : 

"Sed  propera.  nee  te  venturas  differ  in  horas; 
Qui  non  est  hodife,  eras  minus  aptus  erit." 

Be  speedy ;  put  not  off  till  another  time : 

He  who  is  not  prepared  to-day,  will  be  less  prepared  to-morrow. 

He  that  goes  on  from  day  to  day  in  sin,  will  find  his 
indisposition  to  repent  daily  increased,  the  habits  of  sin 
strengthened,  and  himself  brought  at  length  under  the  power 
of  an  inveterate  custom.  And  if  it  be  hard  to  break  any 
custom,  much  more  a  custom  in  sinning,  which  is  so  agree- 
able to  depraved  nature.  Hence  saith  the  Spirit  of  God, 
"Can  the  Ethiopian  change  his  skin,  or  the  leopard  his 
spots  ?  then  may  ye  also  do  good,  that  are  accustomed  to 
do  evil."  Jer.  13  :  23.  3.  The  longer  Satan  keeps  posses- 
sion, the  more  difficult  will  his  ejection  prove.  The  devils 
that  possessed  the  man  from  the  womb  up,  could  not  be  cast 
out  but  by  some  extraordinary  way.  4.  Delays  bring  on 
spiritual  judgments  from  God,  such  as  judicial  hardness  of 
the  heart,  which  will  make  repentance  impossible,  according 
to  that  terrible  place,  Isa.  6  :  9,  10,  "Make  the  heart  of  this 
people  fat,"  etc.,  which  is  quoted  no  less  than  six  times  in 
the  New  Testament,  as  if  it  belonged  only  to  them  that  linger 
and  sit  impenitent  under  gospel  calls. 

5.  We  should  reckon  such  delays  madness  in  earthly 
afiairs,  which  are  but  trifles  when  compared  to  salvation. 
If  a  man's  house  were  on  fire,  we  should  count  him  mad  if 
he  should  say  it  is  time  enough  to  quench  it  to-morrow  ;  or, 
if  he  were  stung  with  a  venomous  serpent,  if  he  should 
neglect  to  seek  an  instant  cure.  If  he  had  got  poison  in  his 
stomach,  surely  he  would  never  think  he  could  soon  enough 
vomit  it  up.     If  a  malefactor  were  condemned  to  a  cruel 


IMMEDIATE  UEPENTANCE.  257 

d^ath  to-mbrrow,  but  had  a  promise  of  remission  if  he  should 
loolj:  after  it  to-day,  would  he  be  so  foolish  as  to  delay  it  till 
next  morning  ?  But  how  much  greater  madness  is  it  to  delay 
repenting  and  fleeing  to  Christ,  when  God's  calls  and  prom- 
ises relate  to  the  present  time,  and  our  danger  in  delaying  is 
infinitely  greater  than  in  any  of  the  aforesaid  cases  ?  Surely 
there  is  no  sting  so  dangerous,  no  poison  so  deadly  as  sin ; 
and  can  we  too  soon  seek  after  the  balm  of  Gilead,  the  blood 
of  Christ,  for  its  cure  ?  There  is  no  death  like  the  second 
death,  no  fire  so  dreadful  as  the  eternal  fire  of  God's  wrath. 
Now  this  fire  is  already  kindled  against  your  souls ;  and  if 
it  be  not  soon  quenched,  it  will  burn  to  the  lowest  hell. 
Lose  no  time  to  get  it  extinguished,  by  fleeing  to  the  blood 
of  Jesus. 

The  next  thing  is  to  show  the  evil  and  danger  of  de- 
laying this  work  until  the  time  of  sickness  and  of  dying. 
Alas,  it  is  the  common  practice  of  most  men.  But  con- 
sider, 

1.  What  wretched  ingratitude  and  baseness  there  is  in 
it.  Is  it  fit  you  should  give  the  best  of  your  time  to  God 
that  made  you,  or  to  the  devil  that  seeks  your  destruction  ? 
Is  it  reasonable  that  the  devil  should  feast  on  the  flower  and 
prime  of  your  youth  and  strength,  and  your  Creator  have  no 
other  but  the  fragments  of  the  devil's  table  ?  When  the 
dregs  of  your  time  are  come,  your  strength  gone,  your  senses 
failed,  your  understanding  and  memory  weak,  your  affections 
spent  upon  the  creature,  yea,  when  you  are  good  for  nothing 
else,  will  you  be  so  base  as  to  think  you  are  then  good  enough 
for  God,  and  for  the  work  of  salvation,  which  requires  all 
your  strength  and  might  ?  But  remember,  if  you  be  so  base 
as  to  reserve  the  dregs  of  your  time  for  God,  you  may  expect 
he  will  be  so  just  as  to  reserve  the  dregs  of  his  wrath  for  you, 
according  to  that  word,  "  Cursed  be  the  deceiver,  which  hath 
in  his  flock  a  male,  and  voweth  and  sacrificeth  unto  the  Lord 
a  corrupt  thing."    Mai.  1:14.    Your  youth,  strength,  health, 


258  AFFLICTED  MAN'S   COMPANION. 

gifts,  and  talents  are  the  males  of  the  flock ;  if  you  give  these 
to  the  devil,  and  reserve  the  weakness  of  sickness  and  old- 
age  for  God,  you  draw  down  his  curse  upon  your  head  ;  and 
how  long  will  you  be  able  to  bear  up  under  the  weight  of 
God's  curse?  Now,  0  delaying  sinner,  why  should  you  be 
so  ungrateful  to  God,  and  injurious  to  yourself  ?  God  had 
early  thoughts  of  mercy  to  you;  and  will  you  have  nothing 
but  late  thoughts  of  duty  to  him  ?  Christ  did  not  defer  his 
dying  for  us  till  he  was  old  ;  and  shall  we  defer  living  to  him 
till  we  be  old  ?  Oh,  we  do  not  deal  with  God  as  we  would 
have  him  deal  with  us.  When  we  need  help  in  trouble,  we 
cry,  "  Hear  my  prayer,  0  Lord ;  in  the  day  when  I  call, 
answer  me  speedily."  Psalm  102:1,  2.  To-day  we  still 
make  the  season  of  mercy,  but  to-morrow  the  season  for 
duty.  When  mercy  is  delayed,  we  impatiently  cry.  How 
long,  how  long?  We  will  not  wait  God's  holy  leisure. 
But.  alas,  wa  would  have  God  wait  our  sinful  leisure.  Oh, 
let  us  be  ashamed  of  such  disingenuous  dealing  with  our 
Creator. 

2:  Death  may  get  a  commission  to  take  you  off  suddenly 
without  giving  you  any  time  to  repent.  You  are  not  sure  to 
see  the  evening  star  of  sickness  before  the  night  of  death 
overtake  you,  or  that  you  will  have  any  warning  given  you 
before  the  fatal  stroke.  For  how  many  are  there  who  pro- 
ject long  lives  and  look  for  time  before  death  to  repent,  that 
get  a  sudden  call  to  flit  from  the  earthly  tabernacle,  and  have 
not  one  minute  to  provide  another  lodging.  How  many  are 
drowned  by  a  sudden  storm  at  sea ;  and  how  many  killed 
by  outward  accidents  on  land.  Some  drop  down  suddenly 
in  the  streets ;  some  die  sitting  in  their  chairs  ;  some  go  well 
to  bed  at  night,  and  never  see  the  morning ;  some  die  in 
a  fit  of  epilepsy  or  apoplexy,  as  if  shot  with  a  gun.  Thus 
thousands  are  hurried  into  eternity  and  presented  before  God's 
tribunal,  without  being  allowed  so  much  time  as  to  think 
one  serious  thought  or  speak  one  word — not  a  moment  to 


IMMEDIATE   REPENTANCE.  269 

consider  where  they  are  going,  or  to  cry  to  God  for  mercy. 
And  how  know  you  but  this  may  be  your  case  at  death  ? 
Must  it  not  be  the  greatest  folly  then  to  delay  your  repent- 
ance to  a  dying  time,  when  your  life  may  not  be  one  minute 
longer  ? 

3.  Though  you  may  have  some  time  to  lie  on  a  sick- 
bed, how  know  you  but  your  next  sickness  may  be  such  as 
shall  incapacitate  you  for  spiritual  work  ?  Some  we  see  so 
oppressed  with  continual  slumbering  and  sleeping,  even  when 
death  is  nearest,  that  they  are  in  no  case  to  think  or  speak 
of  those  things  that  belong  to  their  eternal  state.  Others,  in 
high  fevers,  are  troubled  with  roving  minds,  and  have  no 
use  of  their  reason,  so  that  they  are  not  capable  of  settling 
their  worldly  aflairs ;  and  how  much  less  are  they  fit  to 
secure  their  soul's  eternal  concerns  at  that  time.  Some, 
again,  are  so  racked  with  pains  and  agonies,  impatient  fret- 
ting, and  bitter  uneasiness,  that  they  cannot  get  one  settled 
thought  about  their  soul's  present  or  future  state.  Others 
are  so  filled  with  terror  and  amazement  at  the  view  of  ap- 
proaching death  and  eternity,  that  they  cannot  compose  their 
thoughts  to  examine  themselves,  confess  their  sins,  act  faith 
in  a  Saviour,  or  follow  any  direction  that  is  given  them ; 

-but  go  off  the  stage  in  distraction,  being  incapable  of  doing 
any  thing  to  purpose  for  their  souls.*  Some  are  brought  to  a 
great  strait  between  the  word  of  God  and  the  physician. 
The  word  of  God  and  his  ministers  tell  them,  if  they  do  not 
mourn  for  their  sins  and  wrestle  for  mercy,  they  cannot  be 
saved  ;  but  saith  the  physician,  if  you  trouble  yourself  with 
sad  and  melancholy  thoughts,  you  prejudice  your  health  and 
hazard  your  life.  Oh,  is  this  a  fit  time  to  begin  your  prepa- 
ration for  another  world  ? 

4.  The  Spirit  of  God  being  long  resisted  and  vexed  by 
many  in  the  day  of  health,  is  provoked  to  leave  them  on 
death-beds  to  the  hardness  of  their  own  heirts  ;  and.  so  they 
remain  like  stocks  and  stones,  dead  and  stupid  to  the  last.  . 


260  AFFiyCTED  MAN'S   COMPANION. 

5.  The  devil,  who  was  busy  all  your  life  to  keep  you 
from  repentance, -will  not  be  idle  at  this  time ;  nay,  he  will 
be  more  active  than  ever  to  ruin  you,  by  causing  you  to 
split  on  the  rock  either  of  presumption  or  of  despair.  He 
will  sometimes  tell  sinners,  "  You  need  not  trouble  yourselves 
about  your  souls ;  God  is  more  merciful  than  to  damn  you  ; 
the  repentance  yoU'  have  already  will  serve  the  turn."  But 
if  this  will  not  quiet  them,  he  will  study  to  drive  them  to 
despair,  by  telling  them,  "  You  have  lost  the  season  of  repent- 
ance and  closing  with  Christ ;  and  now  there  is  no  remedy 
and  no  hope  for  you,  and  it  is  iii  vain  to  use  any  further 
means."  0  then,  do  not  hearken  to  Satan  now,  when  he 
tempts  you  to  delay  your  repentance. 

6.  Whatever  appearance  of  repentance  some  dying  per- 
sons may  have,  let  that  be  no  encouragement  to  put  off  the 
work  till  that  time.  Why  ?  There  lieth  a  just  suspicion  upon 
a  late  repentance,  that  it  is  seldom  sound  and  sincere.  It  is 
no  sound  work  that  ariseth  more  from  fears  of  hell  than  from 
any  real  hatred  of  sin — more  from  love  to  self  than  love  to 
God.  And  it  is  to  be  feared  that  death-bed  repentance  is 
mostly  of  this  sort,  seeing  ordinarily  it  consisteth  more  in 
grief  and  fear,  prayers  and  promises,  than  in  a  hearty  loath- 
ing of  sin,  love  to  holiness,  or  willingness  to  accept  of  Jesus 
Christ ;  for  have  we  not  seen  many  of  those  peniteni;s,  who, 
m  the  view  of  death,  have  professed  great  sorrow  for  their 
wicked  lives,  and  made  solemn  promises  of  amendment,  yet 
when  they  have  happened  to  recover,  all  their  righteousness 
hath  vanished,  and  they  have  returned  to  their  former  sins 
as  greedily  as 'ever  ?  And  0,  delaying  sinner,  what  ground 
have  you  to  think  that  your  death-bed  repentance  will  be 
any  better  than  theirs  ?  Be  v^dse  then  in  time ;  set  heartily 
about  securing  salvation  in  the  day  of  your  health,  and  do 
not  leave  the  weightiest  work  to  the  weakest  time. 

Objection  1.  But  hath  not  God  promised  mercy  to  them 
that  repent  of  their  sins  at  any  time  ? 


IMMEDIATE   REPENTANCE.  261 

Answer.  Yes,  to  them  that  repent  truly  and  sincerely :  but 
do  not  think  that  it  is  in  your  power  to  repent  so  at  any  time 
you  please ;  no,  it  is  impossible  you  can  do  it  without  the  in- 
fluence and  assistance  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  And  God  hath 
nowhere  promised  this  to  those  who  put  off  their  repentance 
to  a  death-bed.  There  is  a  great  difference  between  a  sick 
man's  howling  upon  his  bed,  and  sincere  gospel  repenting. 
I  grant  true  repentance  is  never  too  late ;  but  0,  late  repent- 
ance is  seldom  true.  True  repentance  is  that  which  hath  a 
care  to  walk  holily,  or  hath  works  meet  for  repentance  joined 
with  it.  Hence  repentance  is  not  only  called  metanoia,  a 
change  of  mind  ;  but  also  metameleia,  an  after-care.  Now, 
for  a  death-bed  repentance,  that  hath  no  such  holy  care  or 
good  works,  I  know  no  promise  in  the  Bible  that  annexeth 
salvation  unto  it. 

Objection  2.  Do  not  we  read  in  Christ's  parable  of  the 
laborers,  Matt.  20,  that  some  were  hired  and  brought  into 
the  vineyard  at  the  eleventh  hour,  and  got  the  same  reward 
with  those  that  Were  hired  at  the  first  and  third  hours  ? 

Answer  1.  Those  that  were  brought  in  so  late,  could 
say  for  themselves,  verse  7,  that  no  man  had  hired  them,  or 
had  offered  to  hire  them  before ;  the  gospel  call  and  offer  of 
salvation  through  Christ  had  not  been  tendered  to  them. 
But  0, 4his  will  not  stand  you  in  stead,  who  have  had  many 
a  call  and  offer  made  you  at  the  third,  sixth,  and  ninth  hour, 
and  have  resisted  and  refused  them :  you  will  not  have  it 
to  say  at  the  eleventh  hour,  as  these  had,  "No  man  hath 
hired  us." 

2.  Those  men,  though  they  came  in  but  at  the  elev- 
enth hour,  not  being  sooner  hired,  yet  they  were  laborers  in 
the  vineyard,  and  wrought  one  hour  therein  faithfully,  in 
obedience  to  their  Lord's  command,  and  so  brought  forth 
some  fruits  meet  for  repentance,  and  were  accepted.  But 
this  is  no  encouragement  to  any  to  expect  to  be  brought  in 
at  the  twelfth  hour,  when  there  is  no  time  to  work,  nor 


262  AFFLICTED  MAN'S   COMPANION. 

bring  forth  any  fruits  to  testify  the  sincerity  of  their  repent- 
ance ;  we  have  no  proinise  of  acceptance  made  to  such. 

Objection  3.  The  penitent  thief  on  the  cross  sought 
mercy  from  Christ  at  the  last  hour,  and  got  it. 

Ansaver.  That  is  a  single  instance,  and  gives  no  encour- 
agement to  delaying  sinners.  The  Scriptures  contain  a  his- 
tory of  more  than  four  thousand  years,  and  yet  during  all 
this  time  we  have  but  one  example  of  a  man  that  truly  and 
sincerely  repented  when  he  came  to  die.  And  in  this  man's 
case  there  was  such  an  extraordinary  conjunction  of  circum- 
stances as  never  happened  before,  and  can  never  fall  out 
again  to  the  end  of  the  world.  This  man  had  the  happiness 
to  die  close  by  the  newly  pierced  and  bleeding  wounds  of  a 
crucified  Jesus,  when  he  was  lifted  up  from  the  earth  in  the 
height  of  his  love,  drawing  sinners  to  salvation ;  which  was 
the  juncture  that  can  never  have  a  parallel.  Again,  the 
man  never  had  any  offer  of  Christ  nor  day  of  grace  before 
now ;  he  surrendered  himself  upon  the  very  first  call ;  and 
his  faith  in  Christ  at  this  time  was  truly  singular  and  mirac- 
ulous. He  was  designed  by  heaven  to  be  made  a  rare  mon- 
ument of  the  power  of  Christ's  grace,  and  a  special  trophy 
of  his  victory  over  devils  and  wicked  men,  at  a  time  when 
they  seemed  to  triumph  over  him,  as  one  crucified  through 
weakness.  ^         • 

From  all  which  we  may  see  that  this  example  was  ex- 
traordinary, and  affords  no  ground  fol:  the  presumption  of 
delaying  sinners.  You  muy  as  well:  cast  yourselves  into  the 
sea  in  hopes  of  preservation  by  a  whale,  from  the  exam- 
ple of  Jonah,  as  defer  repentance  now  in  hopes  of  repent- 
ing on  a  death-bed,  from  the  example  of  the  thief  on  the 
cross.  Your  way  of  sinning  differs  vastly  from  his.  He  was 
not  guilty  of  presumption,  as  you  are ;  he  did  not  slight 
Christ's  call  and  offers  in  the  day  of  his  health,  and  delay 
his  repenting  and  closing  with  Christ,  in  hopes  of  an  oppor- 
tunity for  them  at  the  hour  of  death,  as  you  do.     Do  you 


IMMEDIATE   REPENTANCE.  263 

know  what  God  determines  concerning  presumptuous  sin- 
ning ?  You  may  see  it  in  Numbers  15  :  28,  30,  31.  "  And 
the  priest  shall  make  an  atonement  for  the  soul  that  sinneth 
ignorantly.  But  the  soul  that  doeth  aught  presumptuously, 
whether  he  be  born  in  the  land  or  a  stranger,  the  same  re- 
proacheth  the  Lord ;  and  that  soul  ^hall  be  cut  ofi^  from 
among  his  people,  because  he  hath  despised  the  word  of 
the  Lord."  0  presumptuous,  delaying  sinner,  let  this  word 
of  the  Lord  awaken  you  to  a  speedy,  an  immediate  resolu- 
tion to  obey  his  voice.  "  Return  ye  now  every  one  from  his 
evil  way,  and  make  your  ways  and  your  doings  good."  Jer. 
18:11.  Now  is  the  accepted  time:  if  you  will  hear  his 
voice,  it  must  be  to-day.  Lord,  save  us  from  hardening  our 
hearts.     Amen.. 


THE 


MOURNER; 


THE  AFFLICTED  RELIEVED. 

*  BY  BENJAMIN   GUOSVENOR,   D.  D. 


REVISED. 


As  one  that  comforteth  the  mourners.    Job  29  :  25. 

To  him  that  is  afflicted^  pity  should  be  shown.    Job  6  :  14. 


PUBLISHED   BY   THE 
AMERICAN    TRACT    SOCIETY 

150  NASSAU-STREET,  NEW  YORK. 
Affl.  Man'i  Comp.  12 


CONTENTS. 


SECTION  I. 

Allowances  made  to  the  mourner,  and  which  will  be  made  both  by  Grod  and 
man, 281 

SECTION   II. 

Cases  in  which  our  mourning  may  be  esteemed   excessive  and   immoder- 
ate,    287 

SECTION  III. 

■Submission  to  the  will  of  Grod,  and  resignation  to  his  providence,  with  respect 
to  our  thoughts, 293 

SECTION  IV. 

Of  submission  to  the  will  of  G-od,  as  it  regards  the  frame  of  our  spirit  and  tem- 
per of  our  minds,  297 

SECTION  V. 

Of  submission,  as  it  respects  our  behavior  and  carriage, 299 

SECTION  VI. 

The  impediments  that  hinder  this  so  reasonable  a  duty,  and  so  lovely  a  frame 
of  soul,  in  a  time  of  sorrow, ,- 303 

SECTION   VII. 

Help  against  immoderate  grief,  from  some  considerations  with  respect  to  G-od; 
who  taketh  away, 308 

SECTION   VIII. 

Help  against  immoderate  grief  with  respect  to  the  persons  departed, 315 

SECTION   IX. 

Help  against  inordinate  sorrow,  from  some  considerations  with  regard  to  our- 
selves,  ^ 3-71^ 


268  CONTENTS. 

SECTION  X. 

Help  against  immoderate  grief,  from  considerations  with  respect  to  others  and 
the  world  about  us, 327 

SECTION  XI. 

Directions  to  mourners, 331 

SECTION  XII.. 
The  close, 338 


INTRODUCTION. 


TO  THE  MOURNERS  WHOSE  LATE  SORROWS  ARE  ESPEC- 
IALLY REGARDED  IN  THE  FOLLOWING  PAPERS : 

My  dear  Friends — As  soon  as  you  cast  your  eyes 
upon  this  little  piece,  some  of  you  will  immediately 
think  of  the  good  husband  who  is  no  more,  or  of  the 
tender  parent  who  has  given  the  last  blessing.  Others 
will  remember  the  dear  wife,  the  desire  of  your  eyes ; 
the  pretty  child,  in  whose  life  your  own  seemed  to  be 
bound  up  ;  the  brother  will  come  into  mind,  who  was 
as  your  own  soul ;  and  the  excellent  friend,  who 
sometimes  sticketh  closer  than  a  brother.  I  have  had 
all  these  cases  in  my  eye  ;  and  with  a  sympathy  that 
can  only  arise  from  some  experience  and  benevolence 
in  conjunction,  have  endeavored  to  assuage  and  im- 
prove your  sorrows  at  the  same  time. 

It  is  somewhat  necessary  to  have  been  acquaint- 
ed with  grief,  in  order  to  address  it  suitably  to  the 
tenderness  of  its  nature ;  to  obviate  the  subtlety,  of 
its  pleas  and  pretensions  for  excess,  and  to  manage 
its  operations  and  effects.     There  is  danger  otherwise 


270  INTRODUCTION. 

of  increasing  the  anguish  we  would  alleviate,  and 
causing  the  wound  to  bleed  afresh  :  even  balm  itself 
may  be  painfully  applied. 

There  are,  indeed,  some  wounds  that  will  heal  of 
themselves.  Give  them  a  little  time,  and  the  stock 
of  sorrow  is  not  so  great  but  it  will  quickly  be  spent ; 
the  hasty  showers  will  soon  be  over.  But  the  real 
mourner  is  apt  to  have  the  reasons  of  his  anguish 
continually  before  him ;  and  to  be  more  intent  upon 
wasting  his  spirits  than  his  sorrows  :  fond  of  solitude 
and  silence,  that  he  may  indulge  his  passion  and  pro- 
voke the  emotion  of  that  grief  which  is  ready  to  de- 
vour him  ;  taking  a  sort  of  pleasure  to  lie  down  under 
its  oppression,  and  becoming  a  willing  prey  to  its 
furious  disorders.  Upon  our  offering  to  speak,  they 
reply  eagerly,  "It  is  an  easy  matter  to  talk ;  you 
would  limit  my  grief,  and  not  suffer  its  vent ;  but  if 
it  were  your  own  case,  you  would  resign  yourselves 
up  to  it,  or  faint  under  the  pressure  of  such  a  calam- 
ity." The  first  onsets  of  sorrow  do  indeed  call  for 
compassion  more  than  advice ;  we  are  to  ''  mourn 
with  them  that  mourn."  The  silence  of  Job's  friends, 
"because  they  saw  his  grief  was  very  great,"  was 
more  to  the  purpose  than  any  thing  they  could  say. 
It  would  be  inhuman  to  deny  the  relief  of  mourning, 
when  mourning  itself  is  often  its  own  relief.  But  is 
there  any  harm  in  prescribing  bounds  to  it?  By 
what  rule  of  common-sense  should  grief  be  left  un- 
limited, more  than  any  other  passion  ?  Why  such 
costiv  sacrifices  ns  health  and  life,  and  the  comforts 


INTRODUCTION.  271 

of  both,  to  a  calamity  that  you  think  has  carried  off 
too  much  already  ?  We  may  pay  the  tribute  of  a 
few  tears  to  the  memory  of  some  dear  objects  ;  but 
then  religion  says,  we  should  "  weep  as  if  we  wept 
not,"  because  there  will  ever  be  more  occasion  of  joy 
to  a  good  man  than  of  sorrow.  And  philosophy 
says,  it  is  a  needless  aggravation  of  misery  to  faint 
under  our  pains,  and  not  have  courage  to  suffer 
those  misfortunes  which  it  is  not  in  our  power  to 
avoid. 

Should  the  pilot  abandon  the  helm  in  a  vio- 
lent tempest?  Should  reason  and  grace  be  least 
hearkened  to  when  their  dictates  are  most  rea- 
sonable, and  their  maxims  most  needful  ?  Has  not 
this  weakness  of  mind  betrayed  abundance  of  peo- 
ple into  those  extremities  that  are  a  disgrace  to 
human  nature,  and  a  reproach  to  the  Christian  char- 
acter ? 

Ye  children  of  affliction,  break  the  tide  of  sorrow, 
by  throwing  it  into  different  channels ;  and  direct  its 
course  so  as  to  make  it  useful  to  spiritual  purposes. 
It  will  be  more  easy  at  such  a  time  to  convert  the 
sorrow  of  this  world,  that  worketh  death,  into  that 
godly  sorrow  that  worketh  repentance  unto  life.  So 
other  natural  passions  may  be  sanctified,  by  making 
them  assist  in  the  exercise  of  spiritual  grace.  It  is 
a  tender  time,  while  the  soul  is  more  susceptible  of 
impression,  and  turns  more  easily,  as  the  softened 
wax  to  the  seal.  As  thankfulness  is  a  proper  graft 
upon  the  joys  of  prosperity,  when  the  heart  is  enlarg- 


272  INTRODUCTION. 

ed,  so  will  godly  sorrow  be  seasonable  to  a  mournful 
occasion ;  and  the  rather,  because  this  is  one  great 
end  of  Grod  in  all  our  afflictions. 

I  know  not  whether  it  has  been  observed,  but 
to  me  it  seems  that  the  measures  of  mourning  are 
represented  to  lessen  in  proportion  as  men  are  near- 
er to  Grod.  The  people  of  Grod,  under  the  Old  Tes- 
tament, were  forbidden  those  signs  of  sorrow  that 
were  common  among  the  Grentiles,  as  cutting  them- 
selves and  tearing  their  hair.  It  was  their  glory  to 
have  Grod  so  nigh  to  them.  The  priests  among  them 
were  not  allowed  those  expressions  of  sorrow  which 
were  indulged  to  the  people.  The  priests  were  nearer 
to  God,  and  ministered  before  him.  The  Nazarite, 
who  by  a  special  separation  was  most  nearly  devoted 
to  Grod,  had  the  least  to  do  with  mourning  or  its  forms, 
''  because  the  consecration  of  his  Grod  was  upon  his 
head."  Numb.  6  : 7.  The  Christian  church,  who 
are  brought  nigh  by  the  blood  of  Christ,  a  peculiar 
holy  people,  and  a  royal  priesthood,  are  laid  under 
this  prohibition,  that  "  they  sorrow  not  as  do  others," 
1  Thess.  4 :  13 ;  neither  as  other  Jews,  nor  as  other 
Gentiles.  Among  Christians,  the  apostles  being  near- 
est to  God  in  holiness  and  spirituality,  were  the  best 
able  to  rejoice  in  tribulation.  *'As  sorrowful,  yet 
always  rejoicing."  And  to  mount  the  last,  highest 
step  of  this  gradation,  heaven,  where  we  are  nearest 
of  all  to  God,  "there  shall  be  no  more  sorrow,"  Rev. 
21:4;  "everlasting  joy  shall  be  upon  their  heads; 
thanksgiving,  and  the  voice  of  praise.     In  thy  pres- 


INTB^ODUCTION.  273 

ence  is  fulness  of  joy  ;  at  thy  right  hand  are  pleasures 
for  evermore." 

The  most  comfortable  thoughts  in  this  case,  and 
such  as  make  up  the  very  cordial  of  consolation,  be- 
long only  to  a  truly  good  man,  andean  only  be  relish- 
ed by  such  a  one.  Why  do  you  oppose  a  man  of  this 
world  with  arguments  drawn  from  another?  You 
talk  of  heaven,  and  he  minds  nothing  but  earth.  You 
propose  the  calm,  healing  thought  of  the  divine  ap- 
probation, with  the  pleasure  and  honor  of  God's  favor, 
to  a  man  who  says  unto  G-od,  "  Depart  from  us  ;  we 
desire  not  the  knowledge  of  thy  ways."  You  preach, 
the  consolations  of  Grod,  which  are  not  small,  to  one 
who  knows  no  consolation  but  in  corn  and  wine  and 
oil.  What  comfort  to  a  man  from  the  thoughts  of 
the  shortness  of  human  life,  whose  greatest  trouble  is 
that  it  is  so  short,  or  else  who  is  apprehensive  that 
the  end  of  these  troubles  will  begin  those  which  shall 
never  end  ?  He  has  no  more  title  to  this  true  com- 
fort, than  he  has  fitness  for  it ;  the  good  man  only 
being  qualified  for,  and  capable  of  this.  Christian 
consolations  belong  only  to  Christians ;  they  are  of  no 
use  to  others  who  have  neither  part  nor  lot  in  this 
matter,  any  more  than  in  that  heaven  whence  they 
are  derived.  They  suppose  a  disposition  capable  of 
them,  as  the  rudiments  of  any  science  are  previous  to 
the  operations  of  that  science  ;  but  the  promiscuous 
application  of  these  comforts  to  all  sorts  of  characters, 
is  mere  quackery  in  divinity,  instead  of  approved 
remedies  and  fair  practice.     "  The  secret  of  the  Lord 


274  INTRODUCTION. 

is  with  them  that  fear  him ;  because  he  hath  shown 
unto  them  his  covenant."  Others  must  go  to  Cicero, 
Seneca,  or  Plutarch  de  Consolatione,  and  try  what 
their  flourishes  and  general  reasoning  will  do.  The 
aids  of  ancient  philosophy,  how  dry,  how  insufiicient 
they  are,  will  appear  from  a  few  passages,  which  I 
take  leave  to  borrow  from  archbishop  Tillotson,  one  of 
the  best  writers  upon  the  best  of  subjects — the  ex- 
cellency of  the  Christian  religion. 

"  Some  pretend  to  doubt  whether  there  was  ever 
any  such  thing  as  sense  of  pain ;  and  yet  when  any 
great  evil  was  upon  them,  they  would  certainly  sigh 
and  groan  as  pitifully,  and  cry  oat  as  loud  as  other 
men. 

"  Others  have  sought  to  ease  themselves  by  main- 
taining that  afflictions  are  no  real  evils,  and  therefore 
wise  men  ought  not  to  be  troubled  at  them ;  but  he 
must  be  a  very  wise  man  indeed  that  can  forbear 
being  troubled  at  things  which  are  very  troublesome ; 
and  yet  thus  Possidonius  distinguished,  as  Cicero  tells 
us :  he  could  not  deny  pain  to  be  very  troublesome, 
but  he  was  resolved  never  to  acknowledge  it  to  be  an 
evil.  But  sure  it  is  a  very  slender  comfort  that  relies 
on  this  nice  distinction  between  things  being  trouble- 
some, and  being  evils,  when  all  the  evil  of  afflic- 
tion lies  in  the  trouble  it  creates  to  us.  And  when 
the  best  that  can  be  is  made  of  this  argument,  it 
is  good  for  nothing  but  to  be  thrown  away  as  a 
stupid  paradox,  and  against  the  common-sense  of 
mankind.  » J  >r':  k^--  .-^  ::.:  s 


INTRODUCTION.  275 

"  Others  have  endeavored  to  elude  their  trouble 
by  a  graver  way  of  reasoning :  that  these  things  are 
fated  and  necessary;  and  that  we  ought  not  to'  be 
troubled  at  what  we  cannot  help.  But  this  only 
proves  the  trouble  to  be  as  fixed  as  the  calamity  that 
occasions  it.  And  perhaps,  that  a  thing  cannot  be 
helped,  is  one  of  the  justest  causes  of  trouble  to  a 
wise  man ;  as  Augustus  smartly  replied  to  one  that 
administered  this  comfort  to  him  on  the  fatality  of 
things :  this  was  so  far  from  giving  any  ease  to  his 
mind,  that,  says  he,  'This  is  the  very  thing  that 
troubles  me.' 

*'  Others  have  tried  to  divert  and  entertain  the 
troubles  of  other  men  by  pretty  and  plausible  say- 
ings, such  as  this, '  That  if  evils  are  long,  they  are  but 
light ;  if  sharp,  but  short ;'  and  a  hundred  such  like. 
Now  I  am  apt  to  imagine,  that  it  is  but  a  very  small 
comfort  that  a  plain,  ordinary  man,  lying  under  a 
sharp  fit  of  the  stone  for  a  week  together,  receives 
from  this  fine  sentence  ;  for  what  pleasure  soever 
men,  who  are  at  ease  and  leisure,  may  take  in  being 
the  authors  of  witty  sayings,  I  doubt  it  is  but  poor 
consolation  that  a  man  under  great  and  stinging 
afflictions  can  find  from  them. 

"The  best  moral  argument  to  patience,  in  my 
opinion,  is  the  advantage  of  patience  itself.  To  bear 
evils  as  quietly  as  we  can,  is  the  way  to  make  them 
lighter  and  easier ;  but  to  toss  and  fling,  and  be  rest- 
less, is  good  for  nothing  but  to  fret  and  enrage  our 
pain,  to  gall  our  sores,  and  make  the  burden  upon  us 


276  INTRODUCTION. 

sit  more  uneasily.  And  this  is  properly  no  consid- 
eration of  comfort,  but  an  art  of  managing  ourselves 
under  our  afflictions  so  as  not  to  make  them  more 
grievous  than  indeed  they  are. 

''  But  now  the  arguments  that  Christianity  pro- 
pounds to  us,  are  such  as  prove  a  just  and  reasonable 
encouragement  for  men  to  bear  affliction  patiently." 
And  then  the  author  mentions  "the  example  of  Christ 
and  the  first  Christians,  and  the  glory  that  shall  fol- 
low the  light  afflictions  of  this  present  time ;"  and 
closes  this  part  of  his  subject  with  a  passage  in  the 
"life  of  Lipsius,  who  was  a  great  studier  and  admirer 
of  the  Stoic  philosophy.  "When  he  lay  on  his  death- 
bed, and  one  of  his  friends  who  came  to  visit  him, 
said,  that  he  need  not  use  arguments  to  persuade  him 
to  patience  under  his  pains — the  philosophy  which  he 
had  studied  so  much  would  furnish  him  with  motives 
enough  to  that  purpose ;  he  answers  him  with  this 
ejaculation,  *  Lord  Jesus,  give  me  Christian  patience.' 
No  patience  is  like  that  which  the  considerations  of 
Christianity  are  apt  to  work  in  us." 

This  is  one  instance  of  the  excellence  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion,  its  furnishing  us  with  the  best  motives 
and  considerations  to  patience  under  the  evils  and 
afflictions  of  this  life. 

All  the  other  philosophical  thoughts,  so  far  as  they 
are  of  any  use,  the  Christian  can  take  and  make  his 
best  of;  and  when  they  fail,  he  knows  where  to  go. 
He  can  turn  to  Grod,  and  say,  " '  When  wilt  thou  com- 
fort me?'     If  thou  dost  not,  all  the  world  cannot. 


INTRODUCTION.  277 

Without  thee,  miserable  comforters  are  they  all.  If 
thou  dost  not  speak  peace,  there  will  be  no  end  of  my 
trouble.  This  balm  is  only  to  be  found  in  Grilead. 
*  Say  unto  my  soul,  I  am  thy  salvation ;'  say,  '  Be 
of  good  cheer ;  thy  sins  be  forgiven  thee.'  And  then 
w^ill  I  say,  'In  the  multitude  of  my  thoughts  w^ithin 
me,  thy  comforts  delight  my  soul.'  Thy  comforts — 
comforts  that  come  from  G-od,  v^^hich  lead  to  him  and 
are  fully  to  be  enjoyed  in  him.  The  light  of  thy 
countenance,  the  sense  of  the  pardon  of  my  sins,  an 
interest  in  the  promises  of  the  covenant  of  grace,  a 
conquest  of  self-will,  and  consequently  of  every  other 
enemy,  peace  of  conscience,  and  joy  in  the  Holy 
Ghost,  the  hope  and  prospect  of  eternal  life  near,  and 
not  the  less  pleasant  on  that  account ;  these  are  con- 
solations indeed  that  are  not  small. ''^  There  are  two 
things  also  said  of  those  divine  comforts,  that  give 
them  infinite  advantage  above  all  other :  they  are 
strongs  and  they  are  full.  "  They  are  strong  conso- 
lations." Heb.  6  :  18.  Others  are  too  weak  to  bear 
much  weight :  a  soul,  in. all  its  heaviness,  finds  they 
are  not  affliction-proof;  they  cannot  stand  under  the 
troubles  of  life,  much  less  will  they  against  the 
terrors  of  death  and  judgment.  But  the  comforts 
that  are  truly  Christian,  will  bear  a  man  up  when 
every  thing  else  fails  about  him,  the  world  is  sinking 
under  him,  and  all  is  going.  The  other  thing  said  of 
these  divine  consolations  is,  that  they  are  full ;  as 
Christ  saith  to  his  disciples,  "Let  not  your  hearts  be 
troubled ;   ye  believe  in  G-od,  believe   also   in  me. 


278  INTRULUOTION. 

These  things  have  I  spoken  unto  you,  that  your  joy 
might  be  full.'' 

To  have  a  God  to  apply  to,  who  is  the  Father  of 
mercies,  and  the  G-od  of  all  consolations — the  God 
that  comforteth  them  who  are  cast  down  ;  to  have  an 
interest  in  Christ,  by  whom  we  have  access  unto  the 
Father,  whose  grace  is  sufficient  for  us  in  every  time 
of  need ;  to  have  the  Spirit,  the  Comforter  by  office, 
to  do  his  office  to  us,  and  diffuse  that  joy  and  peace 
in  believing,  which  are  part  of  the  kingdom  of  God 
and  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit ;  to  have  the  holy  Scrip- 
tures to  go  to,  that  were  written  on  purpose  that  we 
through  patience  and  comfort  of  the  Scriptures  might 
have  hope  :  these  are,  in  comparison  to  all  other  com- 
forts, as  the  fountain  of  living  waters  to  the  broken 
cisterns  that  can  hold  no  water. 

Prayer  gives  ease  to  the  mind ;  revives  faith,  hope, 
and  patience :  promotes  holiness,  as  well  as  fetches 
down  comfort.  It  is,  in  short,  the  true  way  of  hand- 
ling our  weapons  against  our  spiritual  adversaries : 
"  Put  on  the  whole  armor  of  God  ;"  "  praying  with 
all  prayer."  This  is  the  true  way  of  applying  our 
spiritual  remedy:  ''Is  any  afflicted?  let  him  pray." 

Besides  the  mourner  for  departed  friends,  the 
afflicted  on  other  accounts  will  here  find  some  relief 
under  their  troubles  of  life.  The  nature  of  submis- 
sion, and  the  arguments  and  motives  of  acquiescence, 
do  very  much  agree  to  both.  They  have  such  an 
affinity,  that  one  can  hardly  be  treated  of  without 
touching  upon  the  other  ;  as,  in  laying  down  the  map 


INTRODUCTION.  279 

of  any  kingdom,  some  borders  of  neighboring  nations 
will  appear.  They  are  but  different  ingredients  of 
the  same  bitter  cup,  put  into  the  hands  of  mortal 
men. 

He  usually  behaves  best  who  is  best  prepared ; 
who  has  not  his  weapons  to  seek  when  they  are  to  be 
used,  nor  his  armor  to  be  put  on  when  the  attack  is 
begun.  It  is  observed,  that  none  are  more  confounded 
when  calamity  comes,  than  those  who  are  most  care- 
less to  prevent  it.  Principles  must  be  fixed  before 
they  can  be  used,  and  frequently  practice  must  settle 
habits,  before  we  can  enjoy  the  benefit  of  that  ease 
with  which  they  exert  themselves.  Of  all  people 
they  suffer  most  who  will  not  allow  you  to  mention 
beforehand  the  death  of  a  beloved  object,  nor  them- 
selves to  think  of  any  such  thing — "Do  not  speak  of 
it ;  I  cannot  bear  the  thoughts  of  it :  to  be  sure,  I 
shall  run  distracted."  And  so,  partly  for  quietness' 
sake,  and  partly  from  complaisance,  not  a  word  is 
said  of  the  matter :  the  dear  thing  is  clapped  to  the 
heart ;  it  clings,  and  grows  to  the  affections ;  and 
when  it  is  snatched  away,  no  wonder  if  the  parents 
grieve  and  lament.  They  seem  to  have  had  no  notion 
of  their  dear  creature's  being  mortal ;  it  oversets 
them  at  once,  because  they  have  no  consideration 
about  them  to  hinder  its  doing  so,  nothing  that  can 
weaken  the  influence  of  their  vexation.  Whereas  he 
is  a  wise  man  indeed,  who  prepares  both  for  his  own 
death  and  the  death  of  his  friends ;  who  so  improves 
his  foresight  of  troubles,  as  to  abate  the  uneasiness 


280  INTRODUCTION. 

of  them,  and  puts  in  practice  that  philosophical  res- 
olution I  have  read  of,  with  which  I  conclude  this 
address:  "  I  am  thinking  with  myself  every  day,  how 
many  things  are  dear  to  me ;  and  after  I  have  con- 
sidered them  as  temporary  and  perishing,  I  prepare 
myself  from  that  minute  to  bear  the  loss  of  them 
without  weakness." 


THE   MOURNEK 


SECTION   I. 

ALLOWANCES  MADE  TO  THE  MOURNER,  AND  WHICH  WILL 
BE  MADE  BOTH  BY  GOD  AND  MAN. 

Some  allowances  will  surely  be  made  for  our  natural 
aversion  to  troubles,  by  Him  who  knows  our  frame.  "No 
affliction  for  the  present  seemeth  joyous,  but  grievous;"  it  is 
well  if  afterwards  it  produces  "the  peaceable  fruit  of  right- 
eousness." The  man  must  feel:  the  Christian  will  submit. 
The  grace  that  exalts  us  to  the  dignity  of  being  the  children 
of  God,  does  not  lift  us  entirely  above  the  affections  and 
passions  which  are  common  to  men :  but  what  is  better,  it 
governs  them  by  its  laws,  and  uses  them  to  its  own  purposes ; 
and  does  not  eradicate,  but  perfect  our  nature. 

There  is  a  great  difference  in  the  constitutions  of  men: 
That  which  melts  down  one  person,  will  hardly  warm  an- 
other. When  there  is  a  predominance  of  the  softer  passions, 
every  tender  emotion  moves  within  them ;  and,  like  the  sen- 
sitive plant,  they  shrink  in  and  are  afiected  by  the  smallest 
touch. 

Suppose  yourself  under  the  first  stroke  of  an  evil;  the 
sudden  news  of  such  a  loss  may  be  too  hard  even  for  a  man 
that  has  a  good  command  of  himself.  He  must  recover 
himself;  he  must  rally  the  forces  of  reasoft  and  religion: 
when  the  shock  is  over,  he  will  better  perceive  it  might 
have  been  more  decently  borne. 

It  is  no  crime  to  be  sensible  of  the  greatness  of  our  loss, 
nor  to  feel  the  pain  of  it.     Insensibility  is  no  virtue,  has  no 


282  .  THE   MOUPtNER. 

glory  in  it,  will  have  no  reward.  The  great  Abraham 
"came  to  mourn  for  Sarah,  and  to  weep,"  Gen.  23:2, 
without  any  diminution  to  his -great  character.  Jesus  him- 
self wept  over  Lazarus;  which  he  would  not  have  done, 
had  there  been  any  thing  unseemly  in  drx)pping  a  tear  over 
a  departed  friend.  "Devout  men  carried  Stephen  to  his  _ 
funeral,  and  made  great  lamentation ;"  and  yet  they  were 
devout  men.  "  Human  nature,"  says  Dr.  Bates,  "is  framed 
with  such  senses  and  passions  as,  according  to  God's  inten- 
tions, will  be  affected  suitably  to  their  objects ;  and  if  the 
soul  acts  rationally,  it  is  moved  accordingly.  And  if  we 
consider  the  end  for  which  afflictions  are  sent,  namely,  for 
our  amendment,  it  will  appear  necessary  that  they  should 
be  felt ;  for  if  we  have  no  sense  of  the  blow,  how  shall  we 
submit  to  the  hand  that  gives  it?  If  our  affections  are 
seared  against  all  painful  impressions,  God  is  then  defeated 
in  the  best  means  of  our  awakening;  for  he  that  is  not 
sensible  of  his  affliction,  will  continue  secure  in  his  sin." 

There  are  two  extremes  ever  to  be  avoided  under  troubles  : 
the  one  is  slighting  the  affliction,  as  if  we  scorned  to  feel  it, 
like  a  mere  accident,  not  to  be  regarded ;  the  other  is  sink- 
ing under  it,  as  if  we  had  no  help  to  go  to,  but  would  fling 
up  all  in  sullen  despair,  instead  of  endeavoring  to  attain 
the  end  God  himself  aims  at  in  the  dispensation.  Both 
these  extremes  are  cautioned  against:  "My  son,  despise  not 
thou  the  chastening  of  the  Lord,  nor  faint  when  thou  art  re- 
buked of  him."  Heb.  12  :5.  If  you  despise  the  chastening, 
you  may  provoke  him  to  say,  "  I  will  make  you  feel  before  ' 
I  have  done  vv'ith  you  ;"  and  so  draw  upon  you  more  strokes, 
as  they  did  of  whom  it  was  written,  "Thou  hast  stricken 
them,  but  they  have  not  grieved ;  thou  hast  consumed  them, 
but  they  have  refused  to  receive  correction:  they  haVe  made 
their  faces  harder  than  a  rock  ;  they  have  refused  to  return." 
Jer.  5:3.  And  what  followed  this  affected  insensibility,  in 
which  they  hardened  themselves  against  Giod  and  his  provi- 


ALLOWANCES  TO  GRIEF.  283 

dence?  They  made  matters  ten  times  worse,  and  suffered 
many  evils  instead  of  one.  "Wherefore  a  Hon  out  of  the 
forest  shall  slay  them" — some  fierce  and  cruel  enemy;  "a 
wolf  of  the  evenings  shall  spoil  them" — some  greedy  and 
devouring  enemy  ;  "a  leopard  shall  watch  over  their  cities, 
every  one  that  goeth  out  thence  shall  be  torn  in  pieces" — 
some  watchful,  cunning  adversary;  "because  their  trans- 
gressions are  many,  and  their  backslidings  are  increased." 
Jer.  5  : 6. 

How  much  better  is  it  for  me  to  say  with  the  church, 
"  '  I  will  bear  the  indignation  of  the  Lord,  because  I  have 
sinned  against  him  :'  I  will  bear  it  as  well  as  I  can,  and 
will  endeavor  to  bear  it  as  well  as  I  ought.  '  My  wound  is 
grievous ;  but  I  said,  Truly  this  is  a  grief,  and  I  must  bear 
it.'"     Jer.  10:19. 

The  particular  circumstances  of  trouble  in  my  case  are 
all  under  his  compassionate  eye.  The  degrees  of  bitterness 
in  my  cup,  with  every  ingredient,  were  of  his  own  mixing : 
it  is  the  "  cup  which  my  Father  gives  me  to  drink."  He  will 
allow  the  degree  of  sorrow  to  be  in  proportion  to  the  degrees 
of  affliction.  That  degree  of  sorrow  may  be  a  sin  in  one 
affliction,  which  is  but  decent  in  another.  The  blossom  soon 
withers,  and  the  flower  fades — the  fair  blossom,  the  beautiful 
flower;  but  "all  flesh  is  grass."  One  channel  of  my  pleas- 
ure is  dried  up ;  it  is  but  one  channel ;  or  if  more,  the  foun- 
tain is  still  open  and  can  never  run  dry.  I  may  mourn  the 
loss  of  what  was  so  necessary  to  me,  with  a  degree  of  sorrow 
beyond  what  is  due  only  to  a  convenience  of  life.  The  loss 
of  one  upon  whom  our  all  depends,  not  only  the  comfort  and 
delights,  but  the  very  support  and  livelihood  of  a  family; 
how  deep  must  that  wound  be.  And  who  can  forbid  it  to 
bleed,  where  extremities  to  be  suffered  come  in  the  room  of 
endearment  and  delight  enjoyed?  Job  lost  his  children,  his 
estate,  his  health,  his  peace ;  heavy  as  the  sand  of  the  sea 
was  his  grief:  but  here  comes  a  mourner,  and  says,  I  have 


284  .     THE  MOURNER. 

lost  all  this  ill  one  person  :  "I  was  at  ease,  but  thou  hast 
iDroken  me  to  ijieces,"  A  widow  and  fatherless  children ;  a 
poor  widow  and  fatherless :  sick,  as  well  a^  poor ;  deserted 
by  friends,  persecuted  by  enemies ;  how  many  degrees  of  an- 
guish are  here  beyond  the  sorrow  only  of  being  a  widow. 
How  allowable  for  such  a  one  to  say — and  such  a  one  there 
has  been — "Even  to  day  is  my  complaint  bitter;  my  stroke 
is  heavier  than  my  groaning."     Job  23  :  2. 

Grief  must  have  a  vent ;  sorrow  may  express  itself.  I 
may  sigh  and  weep,  and  tell  my  mournful  story  to  God  and 
man:  "In  all  this  Job  sinned  not.  As  for  me,  is  my  com- 
plaint to  men?  And  if  it  were  so,  why  should  not  my  spirit 
be  troubled?"  Job  21  : 4.  It  is  in  vain  to  complain  to 
men.  I  will  turn  my  complaint  to  God ;  he  will  allow  me 
to  complain  to  him,  though  I  must  not  complain  of  him.  "  I 
cried  unto  the  Lord  with  my  voice,  and  made  supplication. 
I  poured  out  my  complaint  before  him ;  I  showed  before  him 
my  trouble."  Psalm  142  : 1,  2.  There  is  a  psalm  on  pur- 
pose for  the  afflicted,  with  thit  title,  "  A  prayer  of  the  afflicted 
when  he  is  overwhelmed,  and  poureth  out  his  complaint  be- 
fore the  Lord."  Psalm  102.  When  a  man  is  so  afflicted  as 
to  be  overwhelmed  with  it,  he  may  complain ;  he  may  com- 
plain even  ''before  the  Lord;"  nay,  he  may  pour  out  his 
complaint.  Another  while  he  says,  "I  am  so  troubled  I 
cannot  speak."  Anguish  in  extremity  will  sometimes  strike 
dumb,  and  at  another  time  pour  out  complaints.  My  sor- 
rows are  great,  because  my  loss  is  so.  Thou  knowest,  0 
Lord,  more  than  myself,  how  bitter  in  many  respects  this  is 
likely  to  prove.  What  a  gap  is  made  in  the  comfort  of  my 
life.  What  troubles  are  like  to  come  in  at  this  breach  like 
a  flood.  Whither  should  I  carry  my  sorrows  and  cares  but 
to  thee,  who  carest  for  me  ?  My  friends  are  quickly  weary 
of  my  complaints :  it  is  burdensome  to  them,  though  it  re- 
lieves me.  Thou  art  the  Father  of  compassion  :  all  weeping 
eyes  lift  up.  themselves  to  thee,  and  every  sighing  prayer 


ALLOWANCES   TO  ORIEF.  285 

from  the  ends  of  the  earth.  "Hear  my  prayer,  0  Lord; 
and  let  my  cry  come  unto  thee.  Hide  not  thy  face ;  incline 
thine  ear.  My  heart  is  smitten  and  withered  like  grass,  so 
that  I  forget  to  eat  my  bread;"  or  I  mingle  it  with  ashes, 
the  bread  of  affliction,  and  the  water  of  affliction.  My 
courage  fails ;  my  spirits  are  wasted  by  the  greatness  of  my 
sorrow:  "By  reason  of  the  voice  of  my  groaning,  my  bones 
cleave  to  my  fekin;  I  am  like  a  pelican  of  the  wilderness,"  a 
lonely,  solitary  creature.  "I  watch,  and  am  as  a  sparrow 
alone  upon  the  housetop  :"  I  decline  society  by  day,  and  am 
deprived  of  sleep  by  night.  "  I  have  eaten  ashes  like  bread, 
and  mingled  my  drink  with  weeping,  because  of  thine  in- 
dignation an^  thy  wrath;  for  thou  hast  hfted  me  up,  and 
cast  me  down."  Psalm  102  :  1-10.  Heal  the  wound  which 
thou  hast  made.  Surely  there  is  balm  in  Grilead,  and  a 
Physician  there.  Assuage  my  grief  by  thy  consolations, 
which  are  not  small.  Relieve  my  loneliness,  by  a  great 
deal  of  thy  sensible  presence.  Give  me  so  much  more  of 
thy  Company,  that  I  may  find  I  am  "not  alone,  because  the 
Father  is  with  me."  My  light  is  gone  out  in  darkness;  let 
the  Sun  of  righteousness  arise  upon  me,  with  healing  under 
his  wings.  Retrieve  the  damage  and  loss  as  far  as  may  be, 
by  the  methods  of  thy  providence.  "I  am  oppressed:  un- 
dertake for  me." 

I  may  open  my  sorrows  to  men  too,  if  I  can  get  any  who 
will  bestow  the  charity  of  hearing  my  story.  It  will  ease 
the  mind ;  it  will  draw  forth  something  of  relief  from  our 
thoughts ;  it  will  direct  and  engage  their  prayers ;  it  will 
extort  some  pity,  and  it  is  something  to  be  pitied  in  afflic- 
tion. Job  missed  of  this,  when  he  had  reason  to  expect  it. 
"He  hath  put  my  brethren  far  from  me ;  and  mine  acquaint- 
ance are  verily  estranged  from  me.  My  kinsfolk  have 
failed,  and  my  familiar  friends  have  forgotten  me.  I  called 
my  servant,  and  he  gave  me  no  answer :  I  entreated  him 
with  my  mouth.     My  breath  is  strange  to  my  wife :"  she 


286  THE  MOURNER. 

turned  away  from  me.  And  all  refuse  the  kind  office  to  a 
poor  afflicted  man  when  he  most  needs  it.  "  All  my  inward 
friends  abhorred  me  ;  and  they  whom  I  loved  are  turned 
against  me.  Have  pity  upoii  me,  have  pity  upon  me,  0  ye, 
my  friends,  for  the  hand  of  God  hath  touched  me."  "  To 
the  afflicted,  pity  should  be  shown." 

The  most  earnest  prayer  to  God  for  tlie  removal  of  an 
affliction,  or  support  under  it,  is  very  consistent  with  entire 
submission  to  the  will  of  God,  and  is  allowed  to  the  mourner. 
Nothing  could  be  more  submissive  in  a  mere  man  than  that 
of  David  :  "  I  was  dumb,  and  opened  not  my  mouth,  because 
thou  didst  it."  Dumb  to  all  murmuring  language,  but  not 
to  prayer,  for  the  very  next  words  are,  "  Remove  thy  stroke- 
away  from  me  :  I  am  consumed  by  the  blow  of  thy  hand." 
Psa.  39  : 9,  10.  But  a  greater  than  David  is  here.  The 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  was  the  perfect  pattern  of  patience,  and 
yet  none  ever  prayed  more  earnestly  than  he  that  the  cup 
might  pass  from  him,  and  "  being  in  an  agony,  he  prayed 
more  earnestly."  Luke  22  :  44.  "  With  strong  cries  and 
tears,"  whenin  the  days  of  his  flesh,  he  spoke  the  language 
of  flesh  and  blood.  He  prayed  earnestly — with  strong  cries 
and  groans ;  importunately-^for  he  prayed  three  times,  as  St. 
Paul  besought  the  Lord  thrice  ;  and  with  great  humility — 
prostrate  upon  the  ground.  And  yet  his  earnestness,  impor- 
tunity, and  humility,  were  all  consistent  with  submission : 
"  Nevertheless,  not  as  I  will,  but  as  thou  wilt."  Behold 
the  desires  of  nature  and  the  resignation  of  grace  I  Na- 
ture says,  "Let  this  cup  pass;"  grace  says,  "Let  thy  will 
be  done."  It  is  no  rebellion  against  the  will  of  God  to 
desire  that  an  evil  may  be  removed ;  but  only  when  we 
as  it  were  insist  upon  its  being  removed,  whether  God  wiU 
or  no  ;  that  is,  when  we  rage  and  storm  if  we  have  not  our 
will,  or  take  sinful  courses  to  obtain  it. 

I  am  allowed  the  diligent  use  of  all  proper  means,  all 
lawful  and  appointed  means  of  removing  affliction.     If  I' 


IMMODERATE   (iRIEF.  287 

cannot  prevent  it,  I  will  remove  it ;  if  I  cannot  remove  it, 
I  will  bear  it ;  if  I  cannot  bear  it,  my  next  concern  is,  that 
sinking  under  it  may  be  rather  my  calamity  than  my  crime, 
and  only  prove  the  occasion  of  a  fresh  act  of  resignation  to 
the  method  he  chooses  hereby  of  delivering  me  from  all  evil. 


SECTION   II. 

CASES   IN  WHICH  OUR  MOURNING-  MAY  BE    ESTEEMED 
EXCESSIVE  AND  IMMODERATE. 

When  the  loss  of  some  one  mercy  shall  destroy  the  sense 
and  relish  of  those  that  remain,  is  not  that  excessive  ?  Let 
him  take  all,  says  passion,  since  he  has  deprived  me  of  this. 
But  what  if  God  should  take  us  at  our  word  ?  How  much 
more  miserable  should  we  be.  than  it  is  possible  for  any  one 
loss  to  make  us.  Are  all  the  mercies  that  remain  worth 
nothing,  because  this  one  is  taken  away  ? 

The  comfort  of  other  relations,  the  accommodations  of 
life,  health  of  body,  the  capacities  of  the  mind,  a  share  in 
the  pleasure  of  angels,  in  contemplation  of  delightful  truths 
and  sense  of  the  divine  favor,  the  means  of  grace,  an  inter- 
est in  Christ,  the  pardon  of  sin,  and  the  hope  of  glory ;  must 
all  these  things  be  as  nothing  because  the  child  is  dead,  or 
the  husband  or  the  wife  is  gone  before  ?  Is  not  this  enough 
to  provoke  God  to  go  on,  and  make  a  full  end  of  all?  and 
to  say  in  his  wrath,  "  Since  these  things  are  not  worth  own- 
ing, they  are  not  worth  continuing ;  I  will  take  them  away. 
Go,  death,  and  take  the  husband  that  is  left,  or  cut  off  that 
wife,  or  child,  or  friend.  Go,  sickness,  and  smite  the  body 
with  disease  and  languishing  weakness :  take  away  the 
health  that  is  left,  since  it  is  esteemed  as  nothing  now.  Go, 
reproach  and  calumny,  and  blast  the  reputation.  Losses 
and  crosses,  take  a  full  commission  to  make  what  ravages 
you  please  in  an  estate  that  cannot  now  be  enjoyed." 


288  THE  MOURNBE. 

Mourner.  Ah,  but  the  flower  of  all  my  comfort  is 
gone.     "  The  glory  is  departed." 

I  answer,  thy  glory  is  to  do  the  will  of  God,  and  bear  the 
burden  he  lays  upon  thee.  This  secures  eternal  glory.  Be 
thankful  you  are  out  of  hell.  All  is  mercy  on  this  side  hell. 
And  if  he  has  added  to  that  many  other  mercies  that  are 
spared  to  thee,  though  often  forfeited,  as  well  as  that  which 
is  gone,  let  the  enjoyment  of  that  remainder  be  an  allay  of 
grief  and  a  comfortable  motive  to  thankfulness. 

When  we  are  so  taken  up  with  our  own  sorrows  as  to 
regard  nobody's  else,  our  grief  is  excessive.  When  all  our 
concern  for  the  sorrows  and  joys  of  others,  and  especially  of 
the  church  of  God,  is  entirely  swallowed  up  in  our  private 
grief,  this  is  to  be  too  much  shut  up  within  our  ownselves, 
and  confined  within  the  little  circle  of  our  own  affairs.  If,a 
piece  of  good  public  news  will  not  make  a  mourner  smile ; 
if  a  national  deliverance  will  not  make  him  forget  to  weep,.  . 
at  least  for,  some  time,  it  is  a  sign  of  none  of  the  best  spirit. 
The  public  may  justly  leave  him  to  his  own  bitterness. 
Eli's  family  afflictions  were  great,  but  the  public  loss  broke 
his  heart. 

When  our  sorrows  utterly  unfit  us  for  the  duties  of 
religion  and  the  services  of  life,  for  any  considerable  time, 
then  they  are  excessive.  You  were  overset  at  first.  The 
storm  came  down  upon  you  unprepared ;  but  do  not  make 
it  your  choice  to  be  overwhelmed.  God  hath  taken  away 
that  person,  and  you  will  not  pray.  Why,  is  there  nothing 
now  worth  asking  for  ?  Will  God  supply  you  with  breath 
for  nothing  but  sigljs  and  groans  ?  If  this  blow  will  not 
bring  you  upon  your  knees,  he  can  strike  another.  It  is 
desperate  language  to  say,  '*  Let  him  strike ;  there  is  nothing 
now  wherein  he  can  hurt  me."  God  expects  to  hear  from 
you  another  way :  "  If  any  be  afflicted,  let  him  pray."  God 
knows  how  it  eases  the  mind,  and  brings  in  help.  You 
cannot  meditate,  but  you  can  sit  alone  for  hours  together 


IMMODERATE   GRIEF.  289 

thinking  upon  a  dead  creature.  Methinks  the  living  saint 
in  heaven  should  have  a  little  of  our  heart.  Our  heart 
should  not  always  dwell  in  a  coffin  and  in  a  grave.  Me- 
thinks the  ever-living  God  is  the  more  seasonable  object  to 
turn  the  mind  to.  The  dear  one  is  dead,  but  "  the  Lord 
liveth,  and  blessed  be  my  E-ock."     Psa.  18  :  46. 

Mourner.  I  can  think  of  nothing  else. 

Answer.  There  lies  the, excess  of  your  grief;  but  is  that 
the  way  to  comfort,  to  turn  your  back  upon  the  Father  of 
mercies  and  the  God  of  all  consolation  ?  You  will  not  meet 
him  in  the  closet,  or  in  the  sanctuary,  because  such  a  one  is 
dead;  that  is,  you  will  not  have  to  do  with  God  because 
you  are  in  a  condition  wherein  you  most  need  his  assistance. 
God  requires  nothing  of  you  impossible  or  improper ;  only 
let  it  be  seen  that  the  dead  creature  was  not  your  God,  but 
He  that  liveth  for  ever  and  ever. 

When  our  sorrows  make  us  heedless  of  the  design  of 
God  in  our  affliction,  and  of  the  lessons  we  should  learn 
from  his  providence,  then  are  they  immoderate.  "  My  soul 
is  weary  of  my  life,"  says  Job,  chap.  10:1;  and  yet,  in  his 
anguish,  he  is  inquiring  into  the  cause  and  design  of  his 
troubles  :  "I  will  say  unto  God,  do  not  condemn  me ; 
show  me  wherefore  thou  contendest  with  me."  Ver.  2.  To 
be  condemned  of  God  was  what  he  feared  more  than  any 
affliction,  for  that  indeed  would  be  a  much  more  dreadful 
thing.  The  way  to  avoid  that  condemnation  is,  to  find  out 
what  God  contends  with  us  for ;  to  remove  it  by  repentance  ; 
then  it  will  be  pardoned  by  his  grace. 

When  we  refuse  to  be  comforted,  it  shows  that  our  grief 
is  swelling  beyond  its  boundary,  and  ready  to  overflow  all. 
Thus  Jacob,  when  he  thought  his  son  Joseph  was  dead,  rent 
his  clothes  and  refused  to  be  comforted.  Gen.  37  :  34,  35. 
And  so  did  another  mourner  we  read  of:  "  Lamentation  and 
bitter  weeping  ;  Rachel  weeping  for  her  children,  refused  to 
be  comforted  for  her  children,  because  they  were  not."     Jer. 

Affl.  Man's  Comp.  13 


290  THE  MOURNER. 

31:15.  If  Rachel  will  refuse  comfort  from  the  word  of 
God  and  the  suggestions  of  friends,  she  must  go  without  it : 
she  must  mourn  on,  and  weep  on.  To  want  comfort  is  an 
affliction;  but  to  refuse  it  when  offered,  is  a  sin.  A  time 
may  come  wherein  you  would  be  glad  to  have  it  if  you 
could,  or  if  there  were  any  to  administer  it.  The  anguish 
of  spirit  may  be  too  great  to  admit  it  presently.  David  was 
so  troubled,  he  could  not  speak;  and  the  Israelites  in  Egypt 
were  in  such  anguish,  they  could  not  hear  the  comfortable 
overtures  of  Moses.  "Moses  spake  so  unto  the  children  of 
Israel,  but  they  hearkened  not  unto  him,  for  anguish  of  spirit 
and  for  cruel  bondage."  Exod.  6  : 9.  But  to  refuse  com- 
fort on  purpose  that  grief  may  swell  to  the  greater  height ; 
to  feed  your  passion  with  fresh  fuel,  and  stir  it  up  with  aggra- 
vating thoughts;  this  is  not  the  way  to  have  your  sorrows 
easy  or  innocent. 

When  nature,  grace,  and  time  shall  have  done  their  part 
towards  the  settlement  of  minds  under  affliction,  and  they 
have  got  over  it  pretty  well,  so  that  the  wound  seems  to  be 
closed,  they  will  tear  it  open  again  and  make  it  bleed  afresh, 
by  the  help  of  certain  mementos,  that  seem  to  be  kept  on 
purpose  for  that  cruel  service :  a  lock  of  hair,  a  picture,  a 
relic  of  wearing  apparel,  or  such  like  memorandum. 

Mourner.  Must  we  then  forget  our  relations  as  soon  as 
they  are  gone?  Do  you  think  I  shall  ever  forget  that  dear, 
creature  ? 

Answer.  But  cannot  we  remember  them  without  for- 
getting  God  and  ourselves,  and  scandalizing  our  religion  ?  If 
we  loved  them  so  well,  is  there  any  danger  of  forgetting  them 
too  soon,  that  we  should  need  art  and  monitors  ?  Remem- 
ber what  was  good,  to  imitate  it — what  was  lovely,  to  be 
thankful  for  it.  But  as  for  these  provocatives  of  sorrow,  if 
I  cannot  view  them  with  patience  and  moderation,  I  am  not 
to  be  trusted  with  them.  Rachel  would  have  had  her  son's 
name  Benoni,  a  son  of  sorrow :  Jacob  knew  that  would  have 


IMMODERATE   GRIEF.  291 

been  a  perpetual  reminding  him  of  the  sorrowful  occasion 
of  his  name,  the  loss  of  his  beloved  Rachel.  He  therefore 
calls  him  Benjamin,  a  son  of  the  right  hand.  In  such  a 
world  as  this,  the  sorrow  we  cannot  avoid  is  enough,  if  it  be 
well  improved. 

"When  sorrow  is  suffered  to  prey  upon  health,  in  its  de- 
grees or  in  its  continuance,  it  is  as  criminal  as  mischievous. 
A  man  may  pine  away  his  health  and  life,  as  well  as  drink 
them  away,  or  destroy  them  by  any  other  extravagance.  It 
wears  away  the  strength,  and  wastes  the  vital  spirits.  Jacob 
said,  that  sorrow  would  "bring  down  his  grey  hairs  to  the 
grave."  "We  know,  by  too  many  instances,  that  sorrow  and 
trouble  will  not  only  bring  grey  hairs  to  the  grave,  but  dark 
ones  too.  "A  broken  spirit  dries  the  bones."  Prov.  17  :  22. 
It  wastes  and  consumes ;  so  as  to  prove  the  truth  of  the  text, 
"The  sorrow  of  the  world  worketh  death."     2  Cor.  7  :  10. 

Sometimes  it  kills  outright,  as  effectually  as  if  a  man 
were  shot  through.  Sometimes  more  gradually  indeed  ;  but 
it  then  does  its  business  as  surely  as  a  slow  poison ;  for  the 
food  seldom  nourishes  that  is  mingled  with  tears.  When  the 
air  doth  not  refresh,  nor  the  faculties  of  nature  perform  their 
functions,  then  we  say  the  heart  is  broken.  And  this  is  the 
language  of  antiquity,  as  well  as  among  us.  Witness  the 
royal  philosopher  :  "By  sorrow  of  heart  the  spirit  is  broken." 
Prov.  15  :  13.  In  the  bills  of  mortality,  we  sometimes  find 
this  article,  "Died  of  grief"  That  article  would  be  much 
larger,  and  oftener  inserted,  if  all  who  died  of  grief  were  to 
be  distinguished ;  but  they  are  put  down  under  the  word  con- 
sumption, or  other  disease  which  grief  brought  upon  them. 

When  our  spirits  are  soured,  and  disgusted  against  every 
thing;  when  our  passions  are  raised  against  men,  and  we 
murmur  against  God ;  when  we  give  way  to  hard  thoughts 
or  language  of  God,  because  "the  Almighty  hath  dealt  very 
bitterly"  with  us,  Ruth  1  :  20,  then  our  sorrows  have  greatly 
exceeded  their  bounds. 


292  THE   MOURNER. 

A  heart  without  grace  will  bound  and  swell,  and  rise 
as  if  it  would  fly  in  the  face  of  God,  upon  the  loss  of  some 
beloved  and  dear  delight ;  and  a  heart  with  grace  can 
hardly  avoid  something  like  it.  An  afflicted  person  is  so 
apt  to  speak  unadvisedly  with  his  lips,  that  Satan  took  it 
for  granted  that  even  such  a  good  man  as  Job  might  be 
provoked  to  so  extravagant  a  thing  as  to'  curse  God  to  his 
face;  or  at  least  he  knew  that  he  sliould  take  the  most 
likely  way  to  provoke  him  to  it. 

It  was  David  the  mourner  that  said  in  his  haste,  "  I  am 
cut  oj9f  from  before  thine  eyes ;  verily,  I  have  cleansed  my 
hands  in  vain." 

It  was  Jeremiah  the  mourner  who  uttered  those  de- 
sponding words :  "  My  strength  and  hope  are  perished  from 
the  Lord.  I  remember  mine  affliction  and  my  misery,  the 
wormwood  and  the  gall."  It  was  Jonah,  iA  his  affliction, 
made  that  fretful  repartee,  when  the  Lord  said,  "Doest  thou 
well  to  be  angry  ?  And  Jonah  said,  I  do  well  to  be  angry, 
even  to  death;"  if  I  fret  myself  to  death,  is  there  not  a 
cause  ?  Or,  I  will  indulge  my  grief  and  vexation,  though 
it  cost  my  life.  Surely  this  is  the  language  of  passion — 
surely  this  is  to  go  beyond  the  allowed  bounds. 

We  may  exceed  in  the  continuance  of  our  grief  It  may 
continue  too  long,  as  well  as  rise  too  high.  The  time  for 
mourning  has  been  limited  by  all  wise  nations;  and  the 
wisest  people  have  made  it  the  shortest.  The  Egyptians, 
who  knew  not  God,  mourned  seventy  days  for  old  Israel; 
and  his  own  son  Joseph  made  a  mourning  for  his  father 
but  forty-seven  days.  Gen.  1:3,  11.  For  Aaron,  Israel 
mourned  thirty  days ;  for  Moses,  thirty,  and  for  Saul,  seven. 
But  it  is  one  thing  how  long  the  ceremony  of  mourning  may 
continue,  and  another  thing  how  long  the  sorrow  may  en- 
dure. The  ceremony  may  be  over  when  the  grief  has  no  - 
end  but  with  the  mourner's  life,  and  he  carries  it  with  him 
to  the  grave.  .  •' 


SUBMISSION   TO   GOD.  293 


SECTION   III. 

submission"  to  the  will   of   aOD,  AND   RESIGNATION    TO 
HIS  PROVIDENCE,  WITH  RESPECT  TO  OUR  THOUGHTS. 

Shall  I  admit  a  thought  reflecting  upon  God  and  his 
conduct  ?  Shall  my  ignorance  impeach  God's  knowledge  ? 
I  do  not  see  the  wisdom  or  the  goodness  of  this  providence. 
No  more  did  Jacob  see  either  wisdom  or  goodness  in  his  loss 
of  Joseph,  "All  these  things  are  against  me,"  says  he; 
and  yet  God  meant  it  for  good.     Gen.  50  :  20. 

All  these  things  are  ordered  by  God.  My  present  con- 
dition is  his  appointment.  '^Afflictions  rise  not  out  of  the 
dust,"  though  they  sometimes  hasten  us  thither;  but  "out 
of  the  mouth  of  the  Lord  cometh  not  good  and  evil  ?"  Lam. 
3  :38.  The  origin  of  all  evil  is  sin,  and  the  direction  of  it 
all  is  in  the  hand  of  God.  "  I  form  the  light "  of  prosperity ; 
"I  create  darkness"  of  affliction;  "I  make  peace,  and  I 
create  evil:  I  the  Lord  do  all  these  things."  Isa.  45:7. 
We  are  apt  to  dwell  upon  second  causes,  and  overlook  the 
hand  of  God,  who,  though  he  cannot  be  the  author  of  sin^ 
can  overrule  the  sins  of  others  to  be  a  correction  of  our  own 
iniquity. 

Shimei's  ill-nature  and  mortal  enmity  to  the  house  of 
David  made  him  curse  David ;  but  David  plainly  discerned 
there  was  something  more  than  Shimei's  ill-nature,  or  attach- 
ment to  the  house  of  Saul,  when  he  said,  "The  Lord  hath 
bid  Shimei  curse  David."  The  Jews  by  wicked  hands  cru- 
cified Christ,  who  yet  said,  "The  cup  which  my  Father  hath 
given  me,  shall  I  not  drink  it?"  As  in  a  medicinal  prescrip- 
tion, whatever  the  ingredients  may  owe  their  bitterness  to,  it 
is  the  skill  and  kindness  of  the  physician  that  makes  it  up. 

Since  these  things  are  ordered  by  God,  they  must  needs 
have  an  end  worthy  of  God  to  propose  and  me  to  attend  to. 
None  of  his  arrows  are  drawn  at  a  venture.     He  always 


294  THE   MOURNER. 

aims  at  something  which  it  is  worth  my  while  to  aim  at 
too.  "  We  have  had  fathers  of  our  flesh  which  corrected 
us,  and  we  gave  them  reverence ;  shall  we  not  much  rather 
be  in  subjection  unto  the  Father  of  spirits  and  live  ?  For 
they  verily  for  a  few  days  chastened  us  after  their  own 
pleasure;  but  he  fpr  our  profit,  that  we  might  be  partakers 
of  his  holiness,"  Heb.  12:9,  10  ;  to  make  us  humble  and 
holy,  to  improve  the  graces  of  his  Spirit  in  us,  to  purge  out 
our  corruptions,  and  to  mortify  more  the  body  of  sin  ;  to 
wean  us  from  this  world,  that  we  may  love  it  less  and 
leave  it  with  more  ease ;  to  prepare  us  for  another  world, 
and  dispose  us  more  to  go  thither. 

This  is  the  voice  of  the  rod  ;  these  the  ends  of  Him  who 
hath  appointed  it.  And  when  these  ends  are  attained,  some- 
thing more  considerable  is  gained  than  what  you  have  lost. 

Mourner.  It  is  hard  for  me  to  think  so  when  under  the 
pangs  of  sorrow.  It  enters  deep,  and  wounds  me  sore.  How 
can  I  ever  say  with  David,  "  All  the  paths  of  the  Lord  are ' 
mercy  and  truth  unto  such  as  keep  his  covenant  and  tes- 
timony?" What,  all  the  paths  of  the  Lord:  the  rough 
and  the  thorny,  and  the  difiicult ;  where  there  seems  to  be 
nothing  but  severity  ?  Friends  and  dear  relations  dead ; 
estate  sunk ;  health  impaired  ;  strength  decaying ;  difficul- 
ties increasing  on  every  side  :  Oh,  he  has  touched  me  in  a 
tender  part.  It  is  the  apple  of  mine  eye  that  the  thorn  is 
gone  into.  What  have  the  promises  produced  to  me  ? 
Might  he  not  have  taken  a  method  that  should  have  looked 
more  like  "  mercy  and  truth  ?" 

Answer.  Can  infinite  wisdom  be  mistaken  ?  Can  infinite 
goodness  be  cruel  ?  Can  infinite  truth  be  false  ?  Allow  Him 
that  knows  the  end  from  the  beginning,  to  know  better  what 
is  good  for  you  than  you  do  for  yourself;  and  to  know  how 
to  come  to  his  end  the  best  way.  Since  "  he  doth  not 
affhct  willingly,  nor  grieve  the  children  of  men;"  and  since 
it  is  only  "  if  need  be"  that  we  are  in  heaviness,  what  is  it 


SUBMISSION   TO  GOD.  295 

but  '•  mercy  and  truth"  that  can  make  him  do  a  thing 
unwillingly,  and  do  it  only  "if  need  be?"  Would  it  be 
mercy  or  truth  to  humor  you  in  omitting  what  must  needs 
be  ?  You  will  allow  him  to  judge  of  the  necessity  of  it  too, 
for  the  same  reason  ;  and  then  you  will  see  reason  to  con- 
clude with  the  royal  mourner,  "  I  know,  0  Lord,  that  thy 
judgments  are  right,  and  that  thou  in  faithfulness  hast 
afflicted  me."  Psa.  119  :  75.  Especially  when  you  con- 
sider, in  the  next  place,^ 

That  he  will  make  this,  and  all  other  trials,  wm'k  to- 
gether for  good.  This  is  the  general  promise  :  "  We  know 
that  all  things  work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love 
God."  Rom.  8  :  28.  We  know  it  is  so  in  fact,  but  we 
know  not  how.  Indeed,  that  knowledge  is  no  business  of 
ours  ;  that  part  we  leave  to  God.  To  believe  the  truth  of 
it,  to  take  the  comfort  of  it,  and  to  wait  the  issue  of  it — that 
is  our  part.  Look  upon  every  trouble  through  the  Scrip- 
ture ;  let  God  take  what  compass  he  please,  it  will  come  to 
this  at  last.  How  contrary  soever  to  my  liking  things  are  at 
present,  they  will  at  length  be  just  as  I  would  have  them. 
Only  let  me  remember  three  or  four  things  : 

1 .  Let  me  take  care  to  be  a  qualified  object  of  this  promise. 
It  is  "  to  them  that  love  God,"  to  them  that  are  the  "  called  " 
or  converted  "  according  to  his  purpose,"  that  this  promise 
is  made,  that  "  all  things  shall  work  together  for  good." 

2.  Let  me  take  care  to  be  right  in  my  notion  of  good. 
If  I  have  no  notion  of  good  but  what  relates  to  the  body,  to 
the  mouth,  or  the  pocket,  to  eating  and  drinking,  and  other 
outward  enjoyments,  I  may  never  think  this  promise  ful- 
filled. But  if  I  think  that  to  be  good  which  is  good  for  the 
soul,  and  that  to  be  good  which  is  good  for  eternity,  the 
promise  is  as  sure  as  it  is  rich,  gracious,  and  comprehensive ; 
and  when  the  good  things  of  this  life  are  really  good  for  us,, 
they  are  certainly  included  in  the  promise,  and  may  be  ex- 
pected from  it. 


29.6  THE   MOURNER. 

3.  Whether  outward  enjoyments  are  good  foi  us  or  no, 
we  must  leave  Him  to  judge  who  made  the  promise ;  and 
there  is  all  the  reason  in  the  world  he  should  whose  good- 
ness made  it,  whose  wisdom  and  power  must  make  it  good. 
They  who  are  the  objects  of  this  promise,  who  love  God, 
will  let  him  judge  for  them  in  this  case.  "What  a  soul  must 
that  be  which  can  say,  "  I  will  have  the  outward  enjoy- 
ments of  this  life,  whether  they  be  good  for  me  or  not ;  and 
whethei:  God  judge  them  good  for  me  or  not."  Does  this 
look  like  one  who  is  the  object  of  that  promise — one  who 
loves  God,  and  is  "  called  according  to  his  purpose  ?" 

4.  We  must  wait  God's  time,  and  expect  the  accom- 
plishment of  this  promise  only  in  his  way.  He  that  believes 
makes  not  haste,  nor  slays,  by  impatience,  "  Why  should  we 
wait  on  the  Lord  any  longer  ?"  Nor  must  we  attempt  to 
hasten  the  fulfilment  by  taking  unlawful  ways,  lest  we  for- 
feit our  share  in  this  promise  by  any  such  misbehavior. 

To  quarrel  with  providence  is  to  charge  God  foolishly. 
It  is  as  much  as  to  say,  that  God  governs  the  rest  of  the 
world  well  enough,  but  not  in  this  particular.  "  He  orders 
all  afiairs  well  but  mine."  When  others  die,  and  other  hus- 
bands mourn  the  beloved,  the  suitable,  and  the  amiable 
creature  gone,  or  when  other  widows  weep  in  secret  and 
are  left  alone,  then  the  lesson  is,  all  must  die  ;  and  submis- 
sion was  preached  up  as  wisdom,  our  best  wisdom,  as  well 
as  duty.  "^ Behold,  thou  hast  instructed  many,  but  now  it  is 
come  upon  thee,  and  thou  faintest ;  it  toucheth  thee,  and 
thou  art  troubled,"  Job  4  :  3,  5  ;  it  touches  thee  to  the 
quick ;  and  you  find  the  lesson  you  taught  to  others  not  so 
easy  to  learn  yourself 

Shall  not  the  commander  of  an  army  be  allowed  to  place 
his-  men  according  as  he  knows  to  be  best  for  the  service, 
whether  the  common  soldier  knows  it  or  not?  He  assigns 
their  post;  he  draws  them  out,  and  giVes  command.  They 
form  themselves  in  the  face  of  danger — they  march  to  the 


SUBMISSION  TO  GOD.  297 

mouth  of  a  cannon,  or  mount  a  breach,  though  ever  so 
dreadful — and  all  for  bread  and  clothes ! — a  submission 
with  which  we  hardly  honor  the  Captain  of  our  salvation, 
though  it  be  for  eternal  life. 


SECTION   lY. 

OF  SUBMISSION  TO  THE  WILL  OF  GOD,  AS  IT  UEOARDS  THE 
FRAME  OF  OUR  SPIRIT  AND  TEMPER  OF  OUR  MINDS. 

I  HOPE  I  have  learned  something  of  this  submission,  since 
I  am  come  to  the  following  resolves,  in  which,  I  apprehend, 
it  does  in  a  great  measure  consist. 

Resolved  and  agreed,  that  God's  will  ought  to  deter- 
mine mine,  and  not  mine  pretend  to  determine  the  will  of 
God.  The  question  is  put,  "Whose  will  shall  be  done?" 
That  petition  in  the  Lord's  prayer  was  made  for  this  very 
case  and  season:  "  Thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in 
heaven."  I  should  be  ashamed  to  say  otherwise ;  but  ac- 
tions have  a  language  as  well  as  words.  I  should  have 
been  ashamed  to  say,  in  words  at  length,  "  Lord,  my  will 
shall  determine  and  govern  thine.  I  will  have  no  will 
superior  to  my  own ;"  but  my  actions  have  said  as  much, 
when,  by  my  murmurs,  rebellious  thoughts,  sinful  courses, 
and  desperate  uneasiness,  I  have  behaved  so  contrary  to  the 
duty  of  a  subject  and  the  relation  of  a  child.  Lord,  forgive 
what  is  past.  And  now,  behold,  here  I  am.  Let  tbe  Lord 
do  to  me  what  seemeth  good  unto  him.  "  Father,  not  as  I 
will,  but  as  thou  wilt."     Luke  22  :  42. 

Again,  resolved  and  agreed,  that  it  is  part  of  my  busi- 
ness in  this  world,  to  endure  what  I  cannot  innocently 
avoid.  What  can  be  avoided  we  may  and  ought  to  avoid, 
since  "  no  affliction  for  the  present  is  joyous,  but  grievous  ;" 
but  what  cannot  be  avoided  by  lawful  means  has  the  mark 
of  being  the  will  of  God,  and  that  I  should  endure.  "No 
13* 


298  THE  MOURNER. 

man  should  be  moved  by  these  afflictions ;  for  yourselves 
know  that  we  are  appointed  thereunto."  1  Thess.  3:3. 
How  do  I  know  what  I  am  appointed  to,  but  by  being 
unable  to  avoid  it  without  sin,  which  is  a  worse  evil  than 
suffering,  and  comes  in  the  room  of  a  great  excellence, 
namely,  a  submissive  spirit  ? 

Farther,  resolved  and  agreed,  that  I  will  neither  despise 
the  chastening  of  the  Lord,  nor  faint  when  I  am  rebuked, 
Heb.  12:5.  To  prevent  which,  I  fly  to  the  assistance  of 
his  grace.  I  consider  that  it  is  one  evidence  of  true  grace  to 
be  willing  to  bear  the  will  of  God,  as  well  as  to  do  it.  I 
call  to  mind  the  promises  in  this  behalf  made  and  provided. 
I  look  to  the  recompense  of  reward ;  and  I  "  endure  as  see- 
ing him  that  is  invisible."  I  look  to  that  particular  bless- 
ing promised  to  him  that  endures  in  a  right  manner  :  "  Bless- 
ed is  the  man  who  endureth  temptation  ;  for  when  he  is 
tried,  he  shall  receive  th.e  crown  of  life . ' '  James  1:12.  *  *  For 
which  cause  we  faint  not ;  but  though  our  outward  man 
perish,  ^et  the  inward  man  is  renewed  day  by  day."  2  Cor. 
4:16.  « 

Moreover,  resolved  and  agreed,  that  I  humble  myself  un- 
der the  mighty  hand  of  God.  ''  I  am  vile ;  what  shall  I 
answer  thee  ?  I  will  lay  my  hand  upon  my  mouth.  Once 
have  I  spoken,  but  I  will  not  answer ;  yea,  twice,  but  I  will 
proceed  no  further."  Job  40  :4,  5.  That  is  to  say,  I  have 
not  a  word  more  to  say ;  neither  against  thee,  nor  for  my- 
self. I  have  said  too  much  already,  and  spoken  too  unad- 
visedly with  my  lips,  in  defending  myself  and  arraigning  thy 
providence;  I  will  proceed  no  further  in  such  challenges. 
Forgive  what  is  past,  and  assist  me  for  the  time  to  come. 
God  delights  to  humble  those  who  will  not  humble  them- 
selves, and  to  exalt  those  that  do.  "  Humble  yourselves, 
therefore,  under  the  mighty  hand  of  God  ;  that  he  may  exalt 
you  in  due  time."    1  Pet.  5:6. 

Mourner.   My  sorrows  are  great,  but  so  is  my  guilt. 


SUBMISSION  TO  GOD.  299 

Things  are  very  bad  with  me,  hut  they  might  have  been 
worse  :  and  they  will  be  better,  if  I  can  behave  so  well  un- 
der this  trouble  as  to  gain  his  pity  and  his  favor.  He  has 
taken  away,  but  he  first  gave. 

God  takes  great  notice  of  such  a  frame  of  spirit,  and  has 
a  thousand  ways  to  reward  it.  "  Because  thy  heart  was 
tender,  and  thou  hast  humbled  thyself,  thine  eyes  shall  not 
see  all  the  evil  which  I  will  bring  upon  this  place."  2  Kings, 
22  :  19,  20.  Heaven  will  make  amends  for  all  sorrows  and 
sufferings.  Submission  is  the  way  to  heaven ;  and  these 
^considerations  are  the  way  to  submission. 


SECTION   V 


OF  SUBMISSION,  AS  IT  RESPECTS  OUR  BEHAVIOR  AND 
GARRIAQE. 

Grief  is  sometimes  outrageous,  and  sometimes  sullen. 
It  will  often  say  any  thing  that  comes  next,  without  grace 
or  decency,  as  well  as  sometimes  say  nothing  at  all.  Job 
sat  seven  days  and  seven  nights  silent,  "  and  none  spake  a 
word  to  him,  for  they  saw  that  his  grief  was  great ;"  and 
when  he  did  speak,  he  cursed  the  day  of  his  birth.  David 
acted  a  better  part,  when  hje  got  up,  anointed,  washed,  and 
ate,  after  the  death  of  his  child.  There  is  a  way  of  saying 
"Thy  will  be  done"  by  the  behavior  or  gesture — with  the 
eyes  and  hands,  as  well  as  with  the  tongue.  Submission  is 
a  grace  that  reaches  to  the  behavior,  the  features,  and  the 
outward  postures  of  body.  The  natural  postures  of  grief 
have  no  offence  in  them  ;  but  there  are  unnatural  distortions 
of  rage  and  despair.  I  have  seen  some  lift  up  their  eyes 
and  hands  to  heaven  as  if  they  threatened,  rather  than  sup- 
plicated the  Almighty  ;  and  heard  them  say  such  words  as 
only  served  to  provoke  their  own  sorrow,  and  God's  anger. 

How  much  better  it. is  to  cast  our  present  burden  and 


300  THE   MOURNER. 

future  cares  upon  God,  in  a  believing  dependence  upon  his 
promises  and  goodness.  Treasure  them  up  in  your  mind, 
for  a  sure  recourse  upon  those  trials  you  are  most  liable  to. 
"  Lay  up  his  words  in  thy  heart."  Job  22  :  22.  "  Thy 
word  have  I  hid  in  my  heart,  that  I  might  not  sin  against 
thee."  Let  the  widow  and  the  fatherless  remember,  that 
he  has  promised  to  be  a  "  Father  to  the  fatherless,  and  a 
judge  of  the  widow."  Psa.  68  :  5.  *'  In  thee  the  fatherless 
find  mercy."  Hosea  14:3.  "The  Lord  preserveth  the 
strangers ;  he  relieveth  the  fatherless  and  widow ;  but  the 
way  of  the  wicked  he  turneth  upside  down."  Psa.  146  :  9. 
•*  Leave  thy  fatherless  children,  I  will  preserve  them  alive ; 
and  let  thy  widows  trust  in  me."  Jer.  49  :  11.  Let  the 
childless  remember  what  God  says,  that  if  such  do  "  choose 
the  things  that  please  me,  and  take  hold  of  my  covenant, 
even  unto  them  will  I  give  in  my  house  and  within  my  walls, 
a  place  and  a  name  better  than  of  sons  and  of  daughters  ;  I 
will  give  them  an  everlasting  name,  that  shall  not  be  cut 
off."  Isa.  56  :  4,  5.  Let  the  friendless  and  helpless  remem- 
ber, that  God  has  promised  to  "  deliver  the  needy  when  he 
crieth^  the  poor  also,  and  him  that  hath  no  helper."  Psa. 
72  :  12.  When  lover  and  friend,  "  when  father  and  mother 
forsake  me,  then  the  Lord  will  take  me  up,"  Psa.  27  :  10. 
Lord,  remember  these  words,  wherein  thou  hast  caused  me 
to  hope.  Promises  were  made  on  purpose  for  God  to  fulfil, 
and  for  us  to  trust  in  ;  and  he  that  by  faith  humbly  depends 
upon  them,  takes  the  best  way  to  have  these,  or  some  others,, 
fulfilled  to  his  seasonable  comfort  and  relief.  "  Be  careful 
for  nothing ;  but  in  every  thing  by  prayer  and  supplication 
with  thanksgiving,  let  your  requests  be  made  known  unto 
God."  Phil.  4:6.  Doth  not  prayer  and  supplication  signify 
a  carefulness  for  something,  namely,  that  which  I  pray  and 
supplicate  for?  Doubtless,  a  care  of  the  right  sort,  a  care 
of  the  means,  which  is  our  part — such  as  prayer,  supplica- 
tion, and  diligence  ;  and  which  discharges  us  from  the  bur- 


1      SUBMISSION   TO  GOD.  301 

densome  care  of  the  end,  which  is  God's  part.  It  eases  us 
from  all  distracting  care  about  the  issue.  It  relieves  our 
anxiety  for  God's  part,  and  our  own  also ;  for  it  is  too  much 
for  any  man  alive  to  have  two  such  cares  upon  him  at  once, 
the  care  of  the  means,  with  their  diligent  use,  and  the  care 
of  the  end  also  :  that  is,  to  have  God's  care  upon  us  and  our 
own  too.  One  of  these  cares  must  be  left  to  God.  To  cast 
upon  God  the  care  of  the  7neans,  and  to  say,  I  will  not  pray, 
I  will  not  use  my  endeavors,  is  carelessness  and  presump- 
tion ;  neither  of  which  are  Christian  graces.  To  take  upon 
us  the  care  of  the  issue  and  the  event,  is  distracting  anxiety, 
and  is  the  carefulness  here  forbidden  as  invading  God's  prov- 
ince. Duty  is  mine ;  so  far  as  that,  I  am  to  care  about  the 
end.  The  event  is  God's  ;  and  that  not  being  in  my  power, 
is  no  object  of  my  care,  though,  it  be  of  concern  and  expecta- 
tion. It  seems  equally  criminal  and  foolish  to  neglect  our 
own  power,  or  to  invade  God's. 

Mourner.  What  if  there  be  no  means  ?    I  see  no  way. 

Answer.  Then  we  must  "  stand  still,  and  see  the  salva- 
tion of  God." 

Mourner.  What  if  there  be  no  salvation  ? 

Answer.  Why,  then,  "  though  he  slay  me,  yet  will  I 
trust  in  him."  Job  13  :  15.  "I  am  not  better  than  my 
fathers  ;  let  me  die."  When  it  is  come  to  that,  we  must  do 
as  they  did  in  Acts  21  :  14  :  "  When  he  would  not  be  per- 
suaded, we  ceased,  saying,  the  will  of  the  Lord  be  done." 
Good  men  have  perished  indeed  from  the  earth,  but  it  is 
only  from  the  earth.  They  die  from  hence  into  immortality. 
They  are  gone,  but  not  lost.  Some  salvation  will  always 
be  ready  to  crown  their  faith  and  patience,  and  expose  the 
angry  impropriety  of  your  question,  What  if  there  be  no  sal- 
vation ?  Good  men  may  be  afflicted,  but  cannot  be  misera- 
ble. If  Dives  shuts  his  door  against  Lazarus,  Abraham's 
bosom  is  open.  *'  Say  unto  the  righteous,  it  shall  be  well 
with  him,"  in  this  or  the  other  world,  or  in  both. 


302  .      .  THE   MOURNER. 

Let  us  suit  ourselves  to  our  condition.  Let  our  minds 
agree  with  our  station ;  our  appetites  and  desires  to  our  cir- 
cumstances. This  is  another  part  of  our  submission  as  to  our 
behavior.  The  blow  that  we  feel  should  kill  curiosity,  vanity, 
lust,  and  pride.  If  we  will  never  possess  our  souls  in  patience 
but  when  they  are  humored,  they  will  sooner  be  undone  than 
satisfied.  He  who  enlarges  his  desires,  makes  the  duty  of  sub- 
mission so  much  the  more  difficult ;  for  he  has  so  many  more 
cravings  to  provide  for,  and  to  be  disappointed  in. 

Nor  should  we  aim  only  at  the  decency  of  a  mere  pa- 
tient behavior,  but  should  endeavor  at  some  degree  of  cheer- 
fulness, for  the  honor  of  God,  and  the  ornament  of  religion. 
Let  me  show  what  my  religion  can  do  in  such  a  case,  and 
of  what  use  its  principles  are  towards  the  comfort,  as  well 
as  support,  of  a  sorrowful  mind.  I  read  of  some  that  could 
"rejoice  in  tribulation;"  why  should  not  I?  If  I  am  not 
yet  able,  I  will  try  to  learn  that  lesson,  hard  as  it  appears 
to  me  at  present.  It  is  no  mark  of  the  divine  favor  to 
escape  all  troubles.  "  Behold,  these  are  the  ungodly,  who 
prosper  in  the  world ;  they  increase  in  riches  :  they  are  not 
in  trouble  as  other  men."  Psa.  73  :  5, 12.  But  I  am  sure  of 
this,  that  to  bear  the  hand  of  God,  and  resign  to  it,  because 
"it  is  the  Lord,"  is  a  mark  of  his  favor  and  love.  This 
grace  bestowed  is  a  greater  gift  than  any  thing  he  has  taken 
away — a  greater  gain  than  any  thing  I  have  lost  in  my  de- 
parted comforts,  or  disappointed  hopes.  Common  mercies 
are  no  proofs  of  special  favor ;  but  the  grace  that  teaches  us 
to  joy  in  tribulation,  and  to  say,  "  Not  my  will,  but  thine  be 
done,"  comes  to  us  with  that  address,  "  Hail,  thou  that  art 
highly  favored  of  the  Lord;"  and  with  that  privilege  the 
apostle  speaks  of,  ''As  sorrowful,  yet  always  rejoicing,"  2 
Cor.  6  :  10 — sorrowful  in  appearance,  but  always  rejoicing 
in  reality ;  because  in  such  a  case  there  will  always  be  to 
such  a  one  more  cause  of  joy  than  sorrow.  "  Therefore  I 
take  pleasure  in  infirmity,  in  reproaches,  in  necessity,  perse- 


HINDERANCES  TO  SUBMISSION.  303 

cution  and  distresses,  for  the  sake  of  Christ.  Most  gladly, 
therefore,  will  I  rather  glory  in  my  infirmities,  that  the 
power  of  Christ  may  rest  upon  me."  2  Cor.  12:9,  10. 
**  Although  the  fig-tree  shall  not  blossom,  neither  shall  fruit 
be  in  the  vines ;  the  labor  of  the  olive  shall  fail,  and  the 
fields  shall  yield  no  meat ;  the  flock  shall  be  cut  off  from  the 
fold,  and  there  shall  be  no  herd  in  the  stall ;  yet  will  I  re- 
joice in  the  Lord,  I  will  joy  in  the  God  of  my  salvation." 
Hab.  3  :  17,  18,  Whence  had  these  men  this  secret  ?  Can- 
not I  have  it  at  the  same  place  ?  I  come  to  the  throne  of 
grace  for  this  grace  and  mercy  to  help  in  this  time  of  need, 
that  I  may  lay  all  at  His  feet,  and  bring  every  high  thought 
to  the  obedience  of  faith,  and  every  tumultuous  thought  into 
a  calm  submission  to  the  will  of  God ;  and  with  cheerful- 
ness proclaim  to  all,  that  I  am  pleased  with  my  Governor, 
however  irksome  to  flesh  and  blood  this  correction  may  be. 


SECTION   VI. 


.THE  IMPEDIMENTS  THAT  HINDER  THIS  SO  REASONABLE  A 
DUTY,  AND  SO  LOVELY  A  FRAME  OF  SOUL,  IN  A  TIME 
OF  SORROW. 

An  evil  heart  of  unbelief,  in  whatever  degree  it  be,  does 
in  the  same  degree  lessen  the  influence  that  invisible  things 
ought  to  have  upon  me.  If  I  indeed  believe  that  life  and 
immortality  are  brought  to  light  by  the  gospel,  I  shall  not 
behave  as  one  who  thinks  there  is  nothing  in  the  case  but 
death  and  parting.  The  eye  that  is  kept  on  the  future  world 
will  not  always  weep,  "  Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled  : 
ye  believe  in  God."  John  14:1,  Is  believing  then  an 
antidote  against  trouble  of  heart  ?  Where  there  is  no  faith, 
there  is  no  submission ;  where  there  is  a  weak  faith,  there 
is^but  a  weak  submission.  We  may  expect  that  he  will  say 
to  us,  "Be  it  unto  you  according  to  your  faith,"     We  are 


304  ,        THE   MOURNER. 

not  likely  to  endure  well,  without  "  seeing  him  that  is  invis- 
ible." And  then  onr  submission  will  be  in  proportion  to 
what  we  discern  in  God  by  faith,  and  what  we  expect  from 
him  by  hope.  "  If  ye  will  not  believe,  ye  shall  not  be  estab- 
lished," neither  in  grace  nor  in  comfort ;  "  but  to  him  that 
believeth,  all  things  are  possible,"  as  it  engages  His  help  to 
whom  all  things  are  easy.  As  all  the  pulses  in  the  most 
distant  veins  of  the  body  depend  upon  that  of  the  heart,  so 
it  is  with  the  movements  of  the  soul :  as  a  man's  heart  is,  so 
is  he,  whether  it  be  a  heart  of  faith  and  patience,  or  an  evil 
heart  of  unbelief. 

Unbelief  says,  God's  hand  is  shortened  that  he  cannot 
save,  or  his  goodness  lessened  that  he  will  not ;  and  this  in- 
disposes us  to  put  ourselves  under  his  protection.  Unbelief 
says  he  has  no  pity,  and  why  then  should  we  cast  ourselves 
upon  his  mercy?  How  can  a  man  part  with  beloved  rela- 
tions, who  does  not  believe  that  he  shall  either  meet  them 
again,  or  not  miss  them  ?  "  Why  art  thou  cast  down,  0  my 
soul,  and  why  art  thou  disquieted  within  me  ?"  says  David. 
Why  ?  Whatever  was  the  cause,  the  remedy  was  faith  and 
hope.  "  Hope  thou  in  God,  for  I  shall  yet  praise  him." 
They  who  have  no  faith  to  believe  that  all  things  shall  work 
together  for  good,  must  needs  be  a  miserable  prey  to  the 
grief  of  disappointments.  They  who  cannot  hope  in  God, 
when  their  soul  is  cast  down  and  disquieted,  cannot  enter 
into  this  rest,  "because  of  unbelief."  Excessive  mourning, 
is  mourning  as  those  without  hope. 

Self-will,  or  an  eagerness  for  our  own  will,  is  a  great 
hinderance  to  submission.  A  man  who  is  impatient  of  cross 
words  or  contradiction,  as  if  born  to  have  always  his  own 
will,  to  be  always  humored  and  pleased,  is.  greatly  unpre- 
pared for  trials,  and  likely  to  fret  against  God.  Pharaoh  is 
not  the  only  man  whose  language  has  been,  "  '  Who  is  the 
Lord,  that  I  should  obey  him?'  I  own  no  throne  higher 
than  my  own ;  nor  will  I  receive  law  from  any  other,  God 


HINDERANGES  TO  SUBMISSION.  305 

or  man."  The  same  says  every  one  that  disputes  the  suprem- 
acy with  God,  in  contending  whose  will  shall  be  done. 

No  people  have  their  will  less  than  those!  who  are  for 
having  it  always :  they  draw  more  troubles  upon  them,  and 
feel  them  deeper.  Generally,  this  temper  is  its  own  pun- 
ishment to  a  great  degree — a  root  of  bitterness,  from,  which 
a  thousand  vexations  spring  up  that  would  have  had  no  ex- 
istence, or  would  have  been  far  less  afflictive  to  those  who 
make  a  sacrifice  of  their  will  to  the  will  of  God.  Take  away 
self-will  and  there  would  be  no  sin,  no  hell,  no  kingdom  of 
Satan.  Take  away  self-will,  and  you  take  away  a  thousand 
sorrows  which  it  only  creates  to  itself,  and  which  are  escaped 
by  the  yielding  will  of  resignation.^ 

We  promise  ourselves  too  much  from  this  world,  and 
from  all  our  relations  and  conditions  in  it ;  and  the  higher 
we  rise  in  our  expectations  and  opinions  of  things,  the  lower 
we  fall  in  the  vexations  of  disappointment.  Men  launch 
into  the  world  in  as  unaccountable  a  manner  as  those  sea- 
men who,  because  it  is  fair  weather  when  they  set  sail,  make 
no  provision  for  a  storm.  What  confusion  must  they  be  in 
when  the  storm  comes  down.  We  must  not  promise  our- 
selves an  exemption  from  those  troubles  that  are  common 
to  all  mankind.  We  must  not  flatter  ourselves  to  attain 
what  we  have  in  prospect,  or  hold  long  what  we  have  in 
possession. 

Great  afTections  make  way  for  great  afflictions,  and  make 
submission  to  Providence  the  harder.  The  advice  of  the 
apostle  is  very  well  suited  to  a  world,  the  fashion  or  scheme 
of  which  passeth  away.  "  This  I  say,  brethren,  the  time  is 
short.  It  remaineth,  that  both  they  who  have  wives  be  as 
though  they  had  none  ;  and  they  that  weep"  the  loss  of 
them,  "  as  though  they  wept  not;  and  they  that  rejoice,  as 

*  ''If  God  would  study  a  close,  quick,  and  certain  way  of  being 
revenged  on  a  man,  he  need  but  open  his  stores,  and  bid  him  choose 
for  himself."     S.Ford. 


306  THE   MOURNER. 

though  they  rejoiced  not ;  and  they  that  buy,  as  though  they 
possessed  not ;  and  they  that  use  this  world,  as  not  abusing 
it ;  for  the  fashion  of  this  world  passeth  away."  1  Cor. 
7  :  29-31.  Did  not  I  know  it  was  hastening  to  an  end? 
Why  did  I  set  my  heart  upon  it,  as  if  it  was  more  durable  ? 
"Why  did  I  make  the  parting  more  afflictive,  and  the  resig- 
nation more  difficult,  by  the  intemperance  of  my  affection  ? 

The  Jews  had  a  custom,  at  their  wedding-feasts,  for  the 
married  couple  to  drink  in  the  same  glass  together,  and  then 
to  break  it  in  pieces ;  teaching  them  by  that  emblem,  that 
whatever  fehcity  they  expected  together,  their  lives,  upon 
which  it  all  depended,  were  frail  and  brittle  as  glass.  No 
sooner  joined,  but  they  were  warned  to  prepare  for  separa- 
tion. So,  in  our  forms  t>f  matrimony,  the  clause,  "  until  death 
do  us  part,"  is  a  memento  to  the  game  purpose.     . 

It  is  as  much  my  duty  to  pray  that  I  may  be  willing 
and  able  to  part  with  any  dear  comfort  of  life  in  a  right 
manner,  as  to  pray  for  its  continuance.  We  are  apt  to  be 
most  earnest  for  their  continuance,  as  if  it  was  a  greater 
thing  for  God  to  please  us.  than  for  us  to  please  God.  The 
grace  that  says,  "  Thy  will  be  done,"  is  infinitely  more  neces- 
sary to  me  than  any  good  thing  God  can.  take  away,  to  try 
that  grace,  and  show  me  that  I  have  it. 

Mourner.  "Oh  Lord,  thou  knowest  how  near  that  per- 
son lay  to  my  heart;  but  thou  knowest  that  thy  favor  is 
nearer  still.  I  would  not  fear  so  much  the  losing  any  thing, 
as  of  offending  thee.  Thou  wilt  surely  grant  my  request  in 
one  of  these  two  things :  either  to  continue  the  mercy  I 
enjoy,  or  help  me  to  resign  it  at  thy  call,  in  the  manner 
thou  shalt  approve ;  and  then,  whatever  loss  there  may  be 
in  such  a  removal,  I  am  sure  the  sense  of  thine  approbation 
is  such  a  gain  as  can  never  cost  me  too  dear." 

He  that  will  die  well,  must  die  daily,  and  practise  upon 
the  foresight  of  it.  So  he  that  will  resign  well,  and  with  a 
becoming  grace,  must  practice  upon  resignation,  and  fre- 


HINDERANCES  TO  SUBMISSION.  307 

quently  put  cases  to  himself:  "What  if  I  should  return 
home  this  evening,  and  find  my  house  in  flames  ?  That  fair 
estate,  which  is  now  to  supply  my  wants  and  support  my 
family,  what  if  it  should  take  wings  and  fly  away  ?  What 
if  the  desire  of  mine  eyes  should  be  taken  off'  with  a  stroke  ; 
or  I  should  see  that  pretty  child  lie  a  dead  corpse  ?  That 
which  I  now  lay  in  my  bosom,  I  shall  not  be  able  to  bear  in 
my  sight.  What  should  I  then  do?  How  should  I  be- 
have? Am  I  prepared  for  such  a  case?  If  not,  I  have  the 
more  reason  to  think  of  it  beforehand.  If  I  am  prepared  for 
it,  then  I  can  better  bear  to  think  of  it  now ;  or  else,  how 
shall  I  bear  the  thing  itself,  when  by  refusing  to  think  of  it 
at  all,  I  continue  to  make  it  more  intolerable  ?" 

As  hard  as  this  practice  seems  to  be,  it  is  much  harder 
to  be  surprised  without  ever  having  thought  of  the  matter, 
or  preparing  for  it.  Though  hard,  it  is  designed  to  make 
that  easier  which  otherwise  is  one  of  the  hardest  things  in 
the  world,  and  will  be  so  always,  the  less  it  is  thought  of  in 
time. 

Another  impediment  to  resignation,  is  a  conceit  of  our 
own  deservings.  How  can  that  person  submit  to  mean 
allotments  of  Providence,  who  fancies  himself  deserving  of 
the  best  ?  The  uneasiness  with  which  a  man  takes  a  low 
rank  in  the  world,  is  in  proportion  to  the  opinion  he  has  of 
himself  as  qualified  for  higher  stations.  Modesty  and  humil- 
ity save  a  deal  of  trouble  here.  "  I  have  a  great  deal,  for 
one  that  deserves  nothing;  nay,  for  one  who  deserves  mis- 
ery. Let  the  Lord  place  me  where  he  pleases ;  if  it  be  out 
of  hell,  I  shall  have  reason  for  praise  and  thanks,  enough  to 
keep  out  murmuring."  You  cry  and  complain  and  repine. 
I  ask  you.  Did  God  owe  you  any  thing  ?  Is  he  accountable 
to  you?  Do  you  deserve  any  thing?  Who  are  you,  and 
what  are  you  more,  or  better,  than  those  many  who  at  this 
time  are  suffering  for  God  with  faith  and  patience,  in  the 
want  of  all  things ;  and  would  think  they  had  hardly  any 


308  THE  MOURNER. 

thing  to  ask  for  on  this  side  heaven,  if  they  could  but  quietly 
serve  God  in:  the  enjoyment  of  half  of  that  which  can  hardly 
make  you  civil  to  the  Almighty,  for  want  of  more  ?  To 
enlarge  our  desires  is  laying  ourselves,  open  to  needless  vex- 
ations, as  numerous  as  our  needless  desires.  He  whose  de- 
sires are  a  hundred  times  larger  than  others,  is  every  day 
liable  to  so  many  hundred  times  more  vexations  and  disap- 
pointments. 


SECTION  VII.         . 

HELip  AaAINST  IMMODERATE   GRIEF,  FROM  SOME   CONSID- 
ERATIONS  WITH  RESPECT  TO  GOD,  WHO  TAKETH  AWAY. 

"It  is  the  Lord."  1  Sam.  3  :  18.  This  is  the  answer 
made  to  the  heavy  message  brought  by  young  Samuel  to  old 
Eli.  "I  will  do  a  thing  in  Israel,"  says  God,  "at  which 
both  the  ears  of  every  one  that  hears  it  shall  tingle  :"  he 
would  cut  off  all  his  family,  and  his  father's  house.  "  Thou 
shalt  see  an  enemy  in  my  habitation  ;  and  there  shall  not  be 
an  old  man  in  thy  house  for  ever.  And  the  man  of  thine, 
whom  I  shall  not  cut  off  from  mine  altar,  shall  be  to  con- 
sume thine  eyes,  and  to  grieve  thy  heart :  and  all  the  increase 
of  thy  house  shall  die  in  the  flower  of  their  age,  and  thy  two 
sons  shall  both  die  in  one  day."  1  Sam.  2  :  31-34.  Here 
is  the  death  of  children  in  the  flower  of  their  age ;  poverty 
extreme  ;  extinction  of  his  family,  and  till  then,  the  branches 
of  it  should  only  live  to  plague  the  parent :  a  dreadful  threat- 
ening.    But  he  answers,  "It  is  the  Lord." 

His  absolute  propriety  in  us  and  all  that  we  have  is 
unanswerable.  "  The  earth  is  the  Lord's,  and  the  fulness 
thereof"  The  products,  the  inhabitants,  the  furniture  of 
all  worlds  are  his.  "  Shall  he  not  do  what  he  will  with  his 
own?"  If  I  myself  am  his  property,  every  thing  I  have 
must  be  so  too.  '  -  .     '  :. 


HELPS  AGAINST  SORROW.  309 

His  absolute  sovereignty  over  all  things  is  uncontrollable. 
*'  Behold,  he  taketh  away,  and  who  can  hinder  him  ?"  Job 
9  :  12,  "He  doeth  whatsoever  he  pleases  in  the  army  of 
heaven,  and  among  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth." 

His  transcendent  majesty  and  excellency  are  not  to  be 
disputed.  Shall  not  his  excellency  make  thee  afraid  to  mur- 
mur against  him,  and  to  find  fault  with  his  ways ;  and  his 
dread  fall  upon  thee  ?     Job  13  :  11. 

He  that  sits  on  the  throne  of  the  universe,  who  shakes 
heaven  and  earth  with  his  voice  ;  who  hath  power  to  lodge 
a  heaven  or  hell  in  thy  breast,  by  his  smiles  or  frowns,  ac- 
cording as  he  pleases  to  reward  thy  submission,  or  punish 
thy  discontent ;  who  can  employ  legions  of  angels  to  be  thy 
guard,  or  devils  to  be  thy  tormentors  ;  he  that  can  silence  thy 
murmurs  with  thunder,  or  stop  thy  insolent  breath  with  fire 
and  brimstone,  and  horrible  tempest;  "shall  not  his  excel- 
lency make  thee  afraid?"  He  who  dwells  in  fight  that  is 
unapproachable,  before  whom  angels  veil  their  faces  ;  shall 
I  lift  up  my  bold  front  against  this  God,  and  charge  that 
brightness  with  a  spot,  that  wisdom  with  folly,  and  that 
justice  of  his  with  an  iniquity? 

His  infinite  perfections,  what  language  do  they  speak? 
He  is  infinitely  wise,  and  cannot  err ;  infinitely  powerful, 
and  cannot  be  resisted ;  infinitely  holy,  and  cannot  behold 
iniquity  without  abhorrence ;  infinitely  good,  and  can  do  no 
evil ;  likewise  true,  and  cannot  falsify  his  word.  If  it  were 
possible  to  take  the  universal  management  out  of  his  hands 
into  your  own,  it  would  be  best  to  replace  it  in  the  hand  of 
God  again.  It  is  he  to  whose  will  all  the  world  besides  com- 
plies ;  why  should  not  I  ?  And  when  I  read  that  Christ  him- 
self said,  "  I  am  come  to  do  thy  will,  0  God ;"  and,  "  Father, 
not  as  I  will,  but  as  thou  wilt ;"  who  am  I,  that  I  should 
pretend  to  speak  any  other  language  ? 

Consider  the  relation  in  which  he  stands  to  us.  My  will 
he  made  ;  shall  he  not  give  laws  to  his  own  creature  ?     Did 


310  THE  MOURNER. 

he  make  this  hand  to  strike  at  himself;  this  breath,  this 
tongue  to  speak  against  him,  and  this  will  to  rebel  against 
himself?  As  I  am  a  dependent  creature,  in  him  I  Uve, 
move,  and  have  my  being.  As  I  am  an  expectant  creature, 
is  it  the  way  to  obtain  my  will  of  him,  to  deny  the  homage 
of  my  will  to  him  ?  As  I  am  a  sinful  creature,  have  not  I 
enough  of  guilt  upon  me  already?  Should  I  swell  the 
account,  and  increase  my  misery  ?  As  I  am  an  accountable 
creature,  he  is  my  Judge ;  as  I  am  a  recoverable  creature, 
he  is  my  Saviour.  And  am  I  angry  with  any  of  his  methods 
towards  making  all  these  ideas  concur  to  my  salvation  ?  To 
be  redeemed  from  the  tyranny  of  my  own  will  and  fancy 
and  appetite,  is  no  small  part  of  the  redemption  by  Jesus 
Christ.  Did  he  give  himself  up  to  death  for  us  ;  and  shall 
I  think  it  too  much  to  give  my  will  up  to  his  ?  Shall  the 
redeemed  from  thraldom  dispute  the  orders  of  the  Redeemer  ? 
Shall  servants  dispute  the  will  of  their  Master  ;  and  subjects 
say  to  such  a  King,  "  What  doest  thou  ?"  Are  we  his  friends 
upon  any  other  terms  than  doing  whatsoever  he  commands 
us  ?  And  if,  as  children,  we  go  to  him  as  "  our  Father  who 
is  in  heaven,"  must  we  not  add,  "  Thy  will  be  done  ?" 

"Whether  we  submit  to  his  will  or  no,  his  will  shall  he 
done.  "His  counsel  shall  stand,  and  he  will  do  all  his  pleas- 
ure." You  may  as  well  submit  by  grace,  and  have  the  com- 
fort of  so  doing,  as  be  forced  to  it  without  grace  and  without 
comfort,  whether  you  will  or  no.  If  it  be  an  act  of  homage, 
your  submission  has  a  reward ;  but  if  it  be  merely  because 
you  cannot  help  it,  you  have  only  sorrow  for  your  pains. 
What  does  all  your  fretting  amount  to  ?  Will  it  change  the 
course  of  providence,  and  allay  griefs  ? 

.  Consider  how  much  God  might  have  taken  away  besides : 
he  might  have  left  you  no  one  comfort ;  he  might  have  taken 
away  all  as  well  as  a  part.  He  might  have  given  up  your 
soul  to  terror,  your  body  to  disease,  and  your  affairs  to  con- 
fusion and  calamity. 


HELPS  AaAINST  SORROW.  .  311 

It  is  by  his  providence  that  all  things  are  conducted ; 
the  most  casual,  the  most  trivial.  Lots,  the  most  casual, 
Prov.  16  :  33,  and  a  sparrow  falling  to  the  ground,  or  a  hair, 
the  most  trivial  things. 

If  there  was  no  providence,  we  should  want  one  of  the 
best  antidotes  against  the  fear  of  what  is  to  come,  and  the 
sorrow  for  what  is  past ;  for,  as  bishop  Patrick  observes,  all 
the  care  would  then  lie  upon  ourselves,  and  be  too  much  for 
us.  But  when  we  think  of  infinite  wisdom  and  power  gov- 
erning all  things,  one  need  not  be  disquieted,  as  if  we  and 
chance  were  to  govern  the  world.  Some  have  satisfied 
themselves  with  the  thought  that  it  is  in  vain  to  be  troubled, 
since  things  must  be  as  they  will  be ;  but  this  is  cold  comfort, 
to  be  content  on  mere  necessity,  though  it  is  the  main  part 
of  what  the  heathen  comforters  afforded.  Thanks  be  to  God 
that  we  have  something  better :  that  the  world  is  not  gov- 
erned merely  by  the  will  of  God,  but  also  by  his  wisdom  and 
goodness ;  and  he  disposes  of  all  things,  not  only  as  absolute 
Lord,  that  we  may  be  sensible  of  his  power,  but  as  a  loving 
Father,  that  we  should  be  sensible  of  his  goodness.  It  is  a 
distrust  of  God  to  be  overtroubled  at  what  is  to  come ;  it  is 
impatience  to  fret  at  what  is  present,  and  anger  against  him 
to  be  overconcerned  about  what  is  past.  This  frame  of 
spirit  finds  fault  with  his  wisdom  and  blames  his  goodness ; 
depresses  his  power,  and  reprehends  his  faithfulness  in  the 
disposal  of  things ;  and  therefore  it  is  a  sinful  frame,  and 
speedily  to  be  amended. 

The  wise  and  great  ends  he  is  advancing,  to  his  own  glory 
and  my  good,  is  another  consideration.  God  hath  as  much 
right  to  use  me  to  the  purposes  of  his  own  glory,  whether 
perceived  by  me  or  not,  as  I  have  to  the  use  of  any  instru- 
ment in  my  house,  or  of  any  servant,  without  acquainting 
him  with  my  purposes.  Thus,  in  the  case  of  Abraham, 
Joseph,  and  Job,  had  they  not  been  used  by  God  much  oth- 
erwise than  their  natural  will  inclined  them  to  choose,  we 


312  THE  MOURNER. 

had  lost  the  benefit  of  the  finest  instances  of  submission  in 
the  world. =*  "0  Lord,  we  are  the  clay,  and  thou  our  potter; 
and  we  are  all  the  work  of  thy  hands."  Isa.  64  .  8.  "  Can- 
not I  do  with  you  as  this  potter,  saith  the  Lord?  Behold 
as  the  clay  is  in  the  potter's  hand,  so  are  ye  in  my  hand." 
Jer.l8:6. 

Whatever  you  lose  or  part  with,  you  cannot  be  miserable 
while  you  have  this  Lord  to  be  your  God  and  portion — the 
God  who  made  the  creatures  we  are  so  fond  of,  and  gave 
them  all  that  loveliness  which  made  us  so  fond  of  them ; 
and  who  has  in  himself  all  that  loveliness  which  he  gave, 
and  infinitely  more.  How  does  it  sound  to  say,  "I  am  un- 
done, for  I  have  nothing  but  God  left?"  Surely  God  can 
supply  the  room  of  any  departed  creature,  though  the  whole 
World  cannot  fill  up  the  room  of  a  departed  God.  To  lose  a 
creature  and  find  a  God,  has  been  a  happy  exchange  to  some, 
whose  losses  have  brought  them  to  know  God  and  themselves 
to  much  better  purpose  than  ever. 

He  that  takes  away  will  give  more  grace  in  time  of 
need,  and  of  his  strength  to  bear  any  burden,  however  dis- 
proportioned  to  our  own.  "He  giveth  more  grace,"  and 
more  still,  as  the  case  requires ;  for  God  "is  faithful,  who  will 
not  sufier  us  to  be  templed  above  what  we  are  able;  but 
with  the  temptation  will  also  find  a  way  to  escape,  that  we 
may  be  able  to  bear  it."  Escape  by  bearing,  though  not 
from  bearing.  He  is  supposed  to  escape  well  who  is  made 
"able  to  bear." 

Submission  to  his  will  is  one  of  the  best  ways  of  glorify- 
ing God,  and  the  most  acceptable  sacrifice  we  can  make.  It 
supposes  you  will  dispute  nothing  with  him,  after  having 
surrendered  your  own  will  to  the  will  of  God.  Martyrdom 
itself  is  but  the  consequence  of  that  disposition,  and  will  be 

*  "I  see  God  will  have  all  my  heart,  and  he  shall  have  it,"  was  a 
fine  reflection  made  by  a  lady,  when  news  was  brought  of  two  children 
drowned,  whom  she  loved  very  much. 


HELPS  AG-AINST  SORROW.  3l3 

sure  to  follow,  when  God  calls  this  grace  to  act  its  part  that 
way.  The  same  grace  that  enables  us  to  suffer  from  him, 
will  help  us  to  suffer  for  him. 

To  sacrifice  a  will  to  God;  is  that  reasonable  service,  and 
living  sacrifice,  which  is  holy  and  acceptable,  Rom.  12:1; 
as  much  beyond  the  sacrifices  of  Aaron,  as  the  soul  and 
spirit  of  an  obedient  Christian  are  beyond  the  dead  carcass 
of  a  beast.  Turn  mountains  into  altars,  and  offer  upon  those 
altars  the  cattle  of  a  thousand  hills;  pour  oiit  ten  thousand 
rivers  of  oil  for  a  drink-offering,  it  would  never  be  accepted 
instead  of  that  demand,  "My  son,  give  me  thy  heart,  and 
let  thine  eyes  observe  my  ways."=^ 

Without  this  surrender  of  soul,  he  calls  all  the  outward 
practices  of  religion  but  flattery  with  the  lips;  and  with 
very  good  reason,  for  men  count  themselves  flattered  when 
our  behavior  is  not  at  all  in  accordance  with  the  fine  things 
we  say  to  them.  So  are  we  accounted  to  flatter  God  when 
we  ascribe  to  him  those  perfections,  and  give  him  those  titles 
which,  when  it  comes  to  the  point  of  trial,  we  seem  to  unsay 
again.  We  call  him  the  Most  High  God,  but  by  and  by 
something  else  appears  higher  in  our  esteem  and  regard : 
that  husband,  that  child,  that  wife,  or  that  estate,  or  honor. 
We  call  him  most  glorious,  and  yet  glory  more  in  something 
else.  You  may  compliment  him  with  the  title  of  Faithful 
and  True;  but  while  he  sees  that  you  will  not  trust  him  in 
the  way  of  your  duty,  that  you  will  not  take  his  word  in  a 
promise,  for  a  work  of  piety  to  God  or  charity  to  man,  he 
counts  it  but  flattery.  If  you  call  him  "Lord,  Lord,"  and 
yet  "do  not  tjie  things  that  he  says;"  if  you  call  him  your 
God  and  portion,  and  yet,  upon  the  taking  away  of  what 
was  apparently  more  dear  to  you,  your  outrage  of  complaint 

*  The  Chaldee  paraphrase  upon  Psalm  50:23,  "Whoso  ofFereth 
praise,  glorifieth  me ;  and  to  him  that  ordereth  his  conversation  aright, 
will  I  show  the  salvation  of  God,"  is,  "Whoso  subdues  and  destroys 
the  principle  of  inordinate  affection,  it  shall  be  accounted  to  him  for  a 
sacrifice  of  praise." 

Affl.  Man's  Comp.       -  14 


314  THE  MOURNER. 

speaks  that  language,  "Ye  have  taken  away  my  gods,  and 
what  have  I  more?"  however  it  may  appear  to  men,  what 
God  thinks  of  it  all,  he  has  told  you  in  these  words :  "  They 
remembered  that  God  was  their  Rock,  and  the  high,  God 
their  Redeemer :  nevertheless,  they  did  flatter  him  with 
their  mouth,  and  they  lied  unto  him  with  their  tongues.  ' 
Psalm  78  :  35,  36.     He  saw  it  to  be  all  flattery  and  lies. 

"Do  you  see,"  says  God,  "how  that  person  behaves  in 
the  offices  of  devotion?  Can  any  body  be  more  assiduous 
in  reading,  prayer,  hearing,  and  sacraments?  You  shall 
now  see  what  all  this  is  good  for,  and  of  how  little  worth." 
God  puts  forth  his  hand  accordingly,  ^nd  takes  away  the 
delight  of  his  eyes  with  a  stroke ;  when  presently,  the  God 
that  he  seemed  to  adore  with  so  much  resignation,  can  hardly 
have  a  good  word  or  a  good  thought  from  him — can  hardly 
be  alloM'ed  to  be  wise,  or  good  and  just,  or  any  thing  but  a 
very  severe  and  hard  master.  "  He  not  only  mourns,  but  he 
pines  and  consumes ;  he  rages  against  me  ;  I  and  my  heaven 
now  are  cyphers,  in  comparison  with  the  creature  that  I  have 
done  no  harm  to,  but  only  removed,  for  purposes  he  himself 
will  rejoice  at  when  he  comes  to  know  them." 

In  short,  this  submission  is  the  sum  and  substance  of 
religion,  and  the  beauty  of  Christianity.  Upon  entering  the 
school  of  Christ,  this  is  the  first  lesson  proposed  to  be  learned, 
to  "take  up  his  cross  and  follow  him;"  and  all  that  w^e  do 
or  suffer  in  religion  afterwards,  is  either  expressive  of  this 
or  instrumental  towards  it.  If  we  pray,  it  is  that  his  "  will 
be  done  on  earth,  as  it  is  in  heaven."  If  we  read,  it  is  that 
we  may  know  "what  is  the  good  and  acceptable  and  perfect 
will  of  God,"  learn  moderation  in  prosperous  joy,  calmness 
in  troubles,  and  composure  of  mind  with  a  decent  vent  of 
sorrow  in  every  distress.  i 


*it' 


HELPS   AGAINST   SORROW.  315 


SECTION   YIII. 

HELP  AG-AINST  IMMODERATE  GRIEF  WITH  RESPECT  TO 
THE  PERSONS  DEPARTED. 

Had  not  God  a  property  in  them  as  well  as  you,  prior  to 
yours,  and  superior  ?  They  were  his  before  they  were  yours  ; 
they  are  his  now  they  are  no  longer  yours,  by  a  thousand 
obligations,  ties,  and  relations,  that  ought  to  take  place  of  all 
your  claims  and  pretensions. 

Should  they  have  been  immortal  here,  only  to  please  you ; 
have  lived,  though  weary  of  life  ;  have  staid,  though  longing 
to  be  gone  ;  and  in  misery,  though  fit  for  happiness  ?  Should 
they  be  kept  in  the  troubles  of  life,  in  the  pains  of  sickness, 
and  in  the  infirmities  of  age  ;  or  at  best,  in  the  insipid  repe- 
tition of  the  same  round  of  things,  only  to  prevent  a  vacancy 
in  any  of  your  amusements  or  delights  ?  Is  this  thy  kind- 
ness to  thy  friend  ? 

Some  parting  time  must  come,  why  not  this  ?  If  the 
time  of  parting  with  them  was  left  to  our  choice,  it  would 
greatly  increase  our  confusion. 

They  are  not  extinct  and  gone  out  of  being.  Their  man- 
ner of  existence  is  changed,  but  the  existence  itself  is  not 
lost.  They  that  are  fallen  asleep  in  Christ  are  not  perished. 
1  Cor.  15  :  18.  They  are  not  blotted  out  of  being,  nor  out 
of  life,  upon  our  Christian  scheme. 

The  degree  of  happiness  in  their  present  state  of  separa- 
tion, whatever  it  is,  affords  a  comfortable  thought.  If  they 
are  absent  from  you  and  from  their  own  bodies,  they  are 
"present  with  the  Lord,"  which,  I  suppose,  you  will  allow 
to  be  far  better.  So  much  better,  indeed,  that  for  the  sake 
of  entering  into  it,  it  is  worth  a  good  man's  while  to  die  at 
any  time,  and  leave  any  company  upon  earth,  though  ever 
so  pleasant  or  good. 

The  spirit  that  returns  to  God  who  gave  it,  is  received 


316  '    THE   MOURNER. 

by  God,  and  welcomed  in  a  maimer  suitable  to  the  relation 
and  character  in  which  it  arrives  there.     "  Blessed  are  the 
dead  that  die  in  the  Lord,  for  they  rest  from  their  labors." 
They  could  have  little  or  no  rest  here,  what  with  labor  and 
trouble,  temptation  and  sin.     What  a  vast  improvement  and 
knowledge  must  a  disencumbered  soul  make  in  such  a  situ- 
ation.     "  Now  we  see  through  a  glass  darkly,  but  then  face 
to  face."     If  the  pleasure  be  not  so  complete  as  after  the 
resurrection,  it  must  however  be  unspeakable,  beyond  all 
that  this  world  afibrds.     They  are  sure  of  their  own  salva- 
tion, and  of  being  the  heirs  of  glory.     And  if  the  pleasure  of 
assurance  here  be  so  transporting,  as  to  give  sometimes  a 
*'  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory  ;"  while  we-say  with  the 
apostle,  "  We  know  and  have  believed  the  love  which  God 
hath  towards  us ;"  what  will  it  be  for  a  soul  to  find  itself 
safely  landed  in  the  world  of  perfection,  among  spirits  of  just 
men  made  perfect,  freed  from  all  imperfections,  natural  and 
sinful ;  returned  to  their  native  soil,  having  left  that  foreign 
country  where  they  were  pilgrims  and  strangers,  and  got 
home  to  their  Father's  house,  where  there  are  many  man- 
sions ;  in  the  best  society  and  company,  as  well  as  the  best 
place ;    reviewing  past  dangers  and  labors ;    admiring  the 
wisdom  of  God,  and  his  goodness,  that  has  brought  them 
thither ;  and  especially  the  goodness  of  that  stroke  we  are 
mourning  over  here  ?     Their  worship  must  needs  be  spirit- 
ual, who  are  all  spirit — without  weariness,  failure,  or  inter- 
ruption.    They  have  glorious  scenes  at  pl-esent  before  them, 
and   pleasing    expectations  of  greater    and    more  glorious 
things  :  such  as  the  accomplishing  the  number  of  the  elect, 
and  all  that  shall  be  saved ;  the  fulfilling  the  great  periods 
of  prophecy  that  remain ;  the  downfall  of  antichrist ;  the 
glorious  appearance  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  the  resurrec- 
tion of  the  body  ;  the  abolition  of  death,  and  the  solemn  cor- 
onation of  all  the  conquerors  through  the  blood  of  the  Lamb, 
to  a  kingdom  that  can  never  be  shaken. 


HELPS   AGAINST   SORROW.  31.7 

Is  this  a  condition  to  be  lamented  with  incessant  tears  ? 
Is  it  for  people  who  are  in  such  a  case  as  this,  that  we  go 
up  and  down  in  black,  with  downcast  looks  and  weeping 
eyes  ?  What  one  article  of  this  happiness  aforesaid  is  not 
worth  more  than  the  longest  life  of  pleasure  and  honor  in 
the  world  ?  One  would  think  that  those  things  only  wanted 
to  be  believed  and  thought  on.  "Would  we  fetch  them  back 
from  this  condition  if  we  could  ?  I  am  afraid  we  are  so  self- 
ish, that  if  the  resurrection  power  were  lodged  in  our  hands 
for  one  day,  we  should  immediately  run  to  the  graves  of  our 
dear  departed,  and  fetch  them  back  again.  To  stop  our  sor- 
rows for  a  while,  we  should  begin  theirs  afresh,  and  bring 
them  back  to  misery.  They  no  sooner  enter  heaven,  but 
they  wish  they  had  been  sooner  there  ;  and  the  next  wish  is, 
that  we  may  be  with  them  too  as  soon  as  may  be ;  and  yet 
we  wish  a  quite  contrary  way. 

I  think  of  the  happy  meeting  again,  which  all  the  world 
shall  not  be  able  to  hinder,  after  a  few  days  are  past.  Let 
us  not  behave  as  if  we  were  never  to  meet  again.  Do  not 
mourn  as  without  hope.  Our"  religion  teaches  us  to  believe, 
that  in  the  separate  state  we  shall  not  be  without  the  soci- 
ety of  our  departed  godly  relations  and  friends.  The  sepa- 
rate soul  of  the  beggar  Lazarus  is  represented  as  in  the 
company,  nay,  in  the  bosom  of  his  father  Abraham  ;  and  the 
penitent  thief  was  promised  to  be  with  Christ  in  paradise. 
The  spirits  of  just  men  are  not  perfected  in  order  to  be  an 
assembly  of  mutes  ;  nor  is  it  likely  they  will  be  strangers  to 
one  another,  when  conversation  in  this  imperfect  world  pro- 
duces acquaintance  and  social  endearment. 

There  will  indeed  be  different  ranks  and  orders  of  saints — 
different  degrees  of  reward  there,  as  of  holiness  here,  and 
consequently  of  apartments  and  situations.  But  is  it  not  the 
same  in  this  world  ?  Is  every  one  in  the  same  rank  and  sta- 
tion ;  of  the  same  character  or  title  and  endowments  ?  And 
yet  we  know  one  another,  and  converse  together ;  a  great 


318  THE  MOURNEE.. 

deal  of  the  beauty  and  pleasure  of  society  arising  from  this 
variety,  as  it  will  also  there. 

At  the  resurrection,  you  shall  meet  again  in  your  glorified 
bodies,  as  well  as  perfect  spirits.  For  all  "  that  sleep  in 
Jesus  will  God  bring  with  him  ;"  and  will  change  their  vile 
bodies,  and  make  them  like  to  his  own  glorious  body.  It 
was  sown  a  natural  body  ;  it  shall  be  raised  a  spiritual  body, 
freed  from  all  elementary  dross  ;  will  feel  no  pain,  can  need 
no  food ;  will  never  be  weary,  however  exercised  or  employ- 
ed ;  without  any  appetites  that  tend  to  inordinancy.  Our 
bodies  then  will  be  immortal :  "  The  children  of  the  resurrec- 
tion die  no  more" — and  incorruptible  :  "  Sown  in  corruption, 
it  is  raised  in  incorruption."  You  will  meet  them  with  all 
these  improvements,  and  to  all  these  degrees  far  more  de- 
lightful than  ever. 

God  will  bring  them  with  him  as  part  of  his  glorious 
train,  when  Christ  shall  "  be  glorified  in  his  saints,  and  ad- 
mired in  all  them  that  believe,"  as  the  trophies  of  all  his 
conquests,  the  vessels  of  his  grace,  the  members  of  his  body, 
the  spouse  of  his  love,  the  shining  instances  of  his  faithful- 
ness and  power,  the  assessors  of  his  court  of  judgment,  and 
partakers  of  his  glory. 

How  joyful  will  that  meeting  be ;  how  happy  ;  how  glo- 
rious— ^never  to  part  more.  You  were  not  always  together 
here  ;  but  you  shall  be  always  together  after  that  meeting. 
The  parting  kiss,  the  wox^  farewell,  have  no  more  room  for 
ever.  This  meeting  together  again  is  what  Christ  pur- 
chased :  "  For  to  this  end  Christ  both  died  and  rose  again, 
that  he  might  be  Lord  both  of  the  dead  and  the  living." 
Rom.  14  :  9.  This  meeting  together  again  is  what  the  word 
of  God  has  promised  :  "  For  this  we  say  unto  you  by  the  word 
of  the  Lord,  that  we  shall  be  caught  up  together  with  them 
in  the  clouds,  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air ;  and  so  shall  we 
ever  be  with  the  Lord."     1  Thess.  4:15,  18. 

This  is  what  the  great  God  hath  promised,  and  is  very 


HELPS  AGAINST   SORROW.  310 

well  able  to  perform.  He  is  "  able  to  keep  you  from  falling, 
and  to  present  you  faultless  before  the  presence  of  his  glory, 
with  exceeding  joy."  Jude  24,  25.  "  And  them  also  which 
sleep  in  Jesus  will  God  bring  with  him."  1  Thess.  4  :  14. 
The  return  of  Christ,  and  of  those  who  sleep  in  him,  have  the 
same  grounds  of  credibility.  "  If  we  believe  that  Christ 
died  and  rose  again,"  then  if  you  believe  one  you  may  be- 
lieve the  other ;  nay,  you  must  and  ought  to  believe  the 
other,  upon  the  credit  of  the  same  evidence  and  authority. 
*'  For  if  there  be  no  resurrection  of  the  dead,  then  is  Christ 
not  risen."  1  Cor.  15  :  13.  This  general  meeting  is  design- 
ed for  general  satisfaction.  "At  that  day  ye  shall  know." 
John  14  :  20.  God  the  Father  wdll  see  with  satisfaction 
the  work  of  his  hands  in  perfection,  made  fit  to  receive  the 
communication  of  his  endearments.  The  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
"  will  see  the  travail  of  his  soul,  and  be  satisfied"  in  the  full 
accomplishment  of  his  design,  in  their  complete  felicity. 
The  Holy  Spirit  will  see  with  satisfaction  the  final  success 
of  his  operations,  in  our  perfect  holiness  and  happiness. 
Angels  will  be  pleased  to  see  the  success  of  their  ministra- 
tions, and  gladly  welcome  us  the  partners  of  their  joys. 
And  as  to  ourselves,  what  an  inexpressible  reciprocation  of 
endearing  love  and  multiplied  joy,  to  find  ourselves  all  met 
together  after  our  parting  sorrows ;  when  all  things  and 
persons  any  way  offensive  shall  be  gathered  out  and  thrown 
aside.  No  falsehood,  rancor,  partiality,  mistake,  prejudice, 
infirmity,  passion,  or  pride,  shall  be  met  with  there ;  nor 
any  thing  to  hinder  the  heavenly  pleasure  circulating  through 
every  heart,  and  dwelling  upon  every  face  and  tongue.  You 
do  not  mourn  as  those  in  Acts  20  :  38  :  "  Sorrowing  most  of 
all  for  the  words  which  he  spake,  that  they  should  see  his 
face  no  more." 

Of  immoderate  grief  we  may  say,  as  Solomon  does  of 
extravagant  mirth,  "What  doeth  it?"  What  doeth  it  for 
them  who  are  gone,  or  for  you  ?     It  may  do  us  much  hurt, 


320  THE   MOURNER. 

but  it  can  do  them  no  good.  It  may  weaken  our  bodies, 
and  damage  our  health  ;  it  may  sadden  our  spirits,  deprive 
us  of  the  comforts  of  Hfe,  and  indispose  us  for  the  duties  of 
it.  And  what  then?  What  advantage  to  the  departed 
from  -so  costly  a  sacrifice  to  their  memory  ?  Do  they  need 
your  tears,  who  have  for  ever  taken  leave  of  weeping? 
Could  your  cries  call  back  the  departed  spirit,  and  awaken 
the  body  into  life  ;  could  you  water  the  plant  with  your  tears 
till  it  revived,  you  might  weep  like  a  cloud,  and  call  nothing 
excessive  that  was  likely  to  prove  successful.  But  there  are 
no  Elijahs  now,  who  may  stretch  themselves  upon  the  child 
and  bring  back  the  soul.  It  is  more  reasonable  to  conclude 
with  David,  "  Now  he  is  dead,  wherefore  should  I  fast  ? 
Can  I  bring  him  back  again  ?  I  shall  go  to  him,  but  he 
shall  not  return  to  me."     2  Sam.  12  :  23. 

.  But  if  we  could,  would  we  have  them  walk  over  the  prec- 
ipice once  more  ?  Would  we  have  them  fight  the  battle  over 
again,  run  the  race  again,  be  tempted,  sin,  and  sufier  again? 
Should  they  come  back  for  our  gratification,  from  that  holy 
place  to  this  place  of  sin ;  from  that  happy  place  to  this 
place  of  trouble  ;  from  joy  to  sorrow,  from  rest  and  peace  to 
new  vexations  ?  Their  sentiments  are  different,  their  affec- 
tions raised'^and  ennobled ;  and  as  well  as  they  loved  you. 
they  would  not  come  back  to  you  for  all  this  world ;  and,  as 
well  as  you  Ipved  them,  you  cannot,  it  seems,  wish  them  joy 
of  their  new  elevation  and  dignity.  Should  not  our  godly 
friends  be  allowed  to  wear  the  crown  they  have  been  fight- 
ing for,  and  the  prize  for  which  they  have  been  running  ? 


HELPS  AGAINST   SORROW.  321 

SECTION   IX. 

HELP   AaAINST  INORDINATE  SORROW,  FROM  SOME   CONSID- 
ERATIONS WITH  REGARD  TO  OURSELVES. 

Self-love  is  at  the  bottom  of  our  sorrow.  I  have  lost 
a  pleasure  and  an  advantage.  I  am  mourning  over  the 
living,  rather  than  the  dead.  If  one  every  way  the  same 
would  make  me  easy,  the  sorrow  is  not  for  the  departed,  but 
for  myself  who  survive. 

No  strange  thing  has  befallen  me  ;,  nothing  hut  what  is 
common  to  men.  It  is  no  more  strange  that  a  man  should 
die,  than  that  he  should  be  born.  Am  I  better  than  my 
fathers,  who  are  dead  and  gone  ?  Whom  makest  thou  thy- 
self? Where  is  the  sense  and  reason  of  pretending  to  an 
exemption  from  the  common  lot  of  mankind ?  "Beloved, 
think  it  not  strange,  as  though  some  strange  thing  happened 
unto  you,"  1  Peter,  4  :  12 ;  for  this  is  no  strange  thing,  that 
a  mortal  should  die. 

I  come  into  a  family,  and  see  one  in  a  corner  weeping 
and  sighing ;  another  is  fallen  upon  a  couch,  unable  to  hold 
up  the  head ;  another  is  run  up  to  a  chamber,  like  David, 
to  weep  and  cry  out,  "Oh,  Absalom,  my  son,  my  son  I'' 
What  is  the  matter  ?  Why,  one  that  was  born  to  die,  is 
dead.  Was  it  the  first  child  or  husband  that  ever  died  ? 
No.  Had  you  a  patent  from  Heaven  against  the  common 
lot?  No.  Would  you  have  had  God  make  him  immortal 
to  please  you  ?  "He  teareth  himself  in  his  angey :  shall  the 
earth  be  forsaken  for  thee ;  and  shall  the  rock  be  removed 
out  of  its  place  ?"     Job  18:4. 

How  many  mercies  and  comforts  are  continued  to  thee, 
that  might  also  have  been  taken  away ;  and  how  many 
troubles  prevented,  that  might  have  befallen .  you.  You 
have  lost  some  children ;  it  might  have  been  all.  You  have 
lost  all ;  it  might  have  been  your  husband  too,  or  \rife,  at 
-14=^ 


322  THE  MOURNER. 

the  same  time.  You  have  lost  husband,  or  wife  ;  it  might 
have  been  also  estate,  and  all  the  means  of  subsistence.  Or 
suppose  that  is  gone  too  ;  you  have  liberty,  health,  peace, 
and  friends.  Or  suppose  they  are  also  gone,  you  are  out  of 
hell,  and  within  reach  of  heaven ;  which  I  will  say  is  a 
greater  thing  than  any  you  have  lost,  or  all  these  put  to- 
gether. Pardon  of  sin  and  peace  with  God  tnay  still  be 
yours. 

Mourner.  These,  I  fear,  are  not  mine. 

Answer.  Nay,  then  it  is  time  to  mourn  over  something 
else  than  a  dead  friend.  To  mourn  over  a  dead  soul  of  your 
own,  to  mourn  over  a  lost  God,  td  sorrow  for  sin — these  are 
infinitely  more  to  your  purpose  than  sorrowing  for  the  dead. 
And  there ,  is  at  least  this  room  to  rejoice,  that  all  these 
spiritual  blessings  may  be  had.  You  may  be  pardoned,  ac- 
cepted, sanctified,  and  saved.  And  it  is  a  matter  of  great 
comfort  that  these  tilings  are  possible,  and  within  reach. 

Mourner.  But  I  would  have  had  these  spiritual  bless 
ings,  with  the  life  and  enjoyment  also  of  those  that  are 
gone. 

Answ^er.  That  is,  you  would  have  every  thing  accord- 
ing to  your  desire  and  fancy ;  that  God  and  providence 
should  take  their  orders  from  you,  and  consult  your  liking, 
before  they  execute  their  decrees.  But,  **  should  it  be  ac- 
cording to  thy  mind  ?"  Job  34  :  33.  He  that  has  a  pillow 
to  lay  his  head  upon,  and  yet,  as  one  says,  will  needs  lay  it 
upon  a  stone  ;  he  that  has  many  convenient  seats  to  sit  upon, 
and  nothing  will  serve  him  but  a  bush  of  thorns,  surely  they 
must  be  very  much  in  love  with  sorrow  and  melancholy, 
who  enjoy  so  many  blessings,  and  yet  will  slight  ^11  the 
pleasures  of  them  to  pine  away  in  the  company  of  their 
wants.  Understand  what  you  now  possess,  as  you  would  do 
if  it  were  taken  away,  and  then  you  will  have  a  better  relish 
for  it. 

The  miseries  and  trouble  entailed  on  the  posterity  of 


HELPS  AGAINSI   SORROW.  323 

Adam  are  numerous.  They  are  compared  to  the  sparks  that 
fly  up,  for  number.  It  is  a  mercy  we  escape  any  of  them ; 
that  all  these  sparks  do  not  kindle  upon  us  together;  that  all 
these  troubles  do  not  seize  upon  us  at  once;  that  out  of  so 
many  miseries  we  should  have  so  few,  when  we  are  born 
to  all  by  descent,  subject  to  all  by  nature,  deserving  of  all 
by  sin.  "'     '  ■     ^-      ■'         .  ^ 

Do  you  forget  what  your  sins  deserve?  "Wherefore 
doth  a  living  man  complain,  a  man  for  the  punishment  of 
his  sin?"  Lam.  3  :39 :  a  living  man,  when  you  might  have 
been  dead ;  for  the  punishment  of  sin,  when  you  might  have 
been  damned?  The  punishment  of  sin  on  this  side  of  hell, 
is  always  less  than  our  iniquities  deserve. 

Mourner.  I  will  bear  the^  indignation  of  the  Lord,  be- 
cause I  have  sinned  against  him.    - 

Answer.  "Let  every  man,"  says  one,  "when  he  com- 
putes what  he  lacks  of  his  desires,  reckon  ..as  exactly  how 
far  he  is  short  in  his  duty;  and  when  he  has  duly  pondered 
both,  he  will  think  it  a  very  easy  compromise,  though  his 
wants  should  be  unsupplied,  provided  his  sins  be  pardoned ; 
and  will  see  cause  to  sit  down  contentedly -with  honest 
Mepliibosheth :  'What  right  have  I  yet  to  cry  any  more  to 
the  king?'"     2  Sam.  19:28. 

The  good  of  affliction  in  general  ought  to  be  taken  into 
the  account,  as  another  consideration  to  assuage  our  griefs. 
"He  for  our^ profit"  chastises,  says  the  apostle.  "  It  is  good 
for  me  that  I  have  been  afflicted,"  says  David. 

Afflictions  have  a  tendency  to  awaken  our  repentance; 
to  stir  us  up  tp  search  and  try  our  ways,  in  order  to  turn  our 
feet  unto  God's  testimonies.  "  I  will  go  and  return  to  my 
place,  till  they  acknowledge  their  offence  and  seek  my  face. 
In  their  affliction  they  wjU  seek  me  early."  Hos.  5 :  15. 
And  so  it  proved.  "  Come,  let  us  return  to  the  Lord :  he 
hath  torn  us,  and  he  will  heal ;  he  hath  broken  us,  and  he 
will  bind  us  up."     Hos.  6:1.     They  help  to  wean  us  from 


324  THE  MOUHNER. 

this  world,  and  make  us  more  willing  to  depart ;  as  we  must 
needs  be  less  fond  of  the  world,  the  more  troublesome  it  is 
to  us;  and  as  it  makes  our  dying  the  more  easy  and  more 
welcome,  to  have  those  sent  before  us  for  whose  sake  we 
might  desire  to  live,  and  with  whom  we  desire  to  be.  We 
have  fewer  ties  and  engagements  to  earth.  The  fibres  being 
cut  offi  and  the  roots  loosened,  the  tree  falls  with  greater 
ease. 

Afflictions  bring  us  to  thoughtfulness  and  consideration, 
when  all  other  means  in  the  world  can  hardly  do  it.  A 
man  can  sit  under  a  sermon  as  unmoved  as  if  the  joys  of 
heaven,  the  sorrows  of  hell,  and  the  eternity  of  both,  were^ 
no  part  of  his  concern ;  the  excellency  of  God,  the  vanity 
of  the  world,  the  deformity  of  sin,  and  the  beauty  of  holi- 
ness, shall  leave  him  unmoved,  if  not  asleep ;  he  little  regards 
the  message,  or  the  messenger  :  but  let  God  send  one  of  Job's 
messengers  to  tell  him  such  a  ship  is  lost,  his  house  is  burnt, 
or  such  a  dear  relation  dead,  presently  he  is  awake,  and  has 
more  thoughts  of  heart  in  an  hour,  than  he  had  before  in  a 
month. 

The  patient  bearing  of  such  afflictions,  and  the  sanctified 
improvement  of  them,  is  one  mark  of  our  sonship  and  the 
love  of  God  to  us.  Should  you  lose  the  comfort  of  such  an 
evidence  by  impatience?  "If  you  endure  chastening,  he 
dealeth  with  you  as  with  sons."  Heb.  12  :  7.  To  endure, 
seems  to  signify  more  than  merely  to  be  chastised ;  namely, 
to  accept  the  chastisement  as  from  the  hand  of  God,  and  to 
bear  it  with  becoming  decency  and  patience.  There  is  one 
remark  more,  proper  for  some  mourners,  from  these  words : 
"If  ye  endure  chastening,  he  dealeth  with  you  as  with  sons." 
What  a  mistake  is  it  then  to  say^  "If  I  was  a  child  of  God, 
he  would  not  deal  with  me  in  such  a  manner ;"  when  the 
text  says,  "  If  ye  endure  chastening,  he  dealeth  with  you  as 
with  sons." 

Affliction  well  sustained  improves  every  part  of  our  relig- 


HELPS  AaAINST  SORROW.  325 

ion.  It  teaches  compassion  and  sympathy  towards  others 
in  their  troubles.  It  gives  an  edge  to  our  devotion,  ardency 
to  our  prayers,  tenderness  to  our  heart,  and  a  hfe  to  our 
graces ;  it  is  the  trial  and  triumph  of  our  faith ;  patience 
hath  its  perfect  work ;  our  resolutions  for  God  are  confirmed, 
so  that  we  take  faster  hold  of  God  and  of  those  things  that 
cannot  be  taken  from  us. 

Our  sorrows,  at  longest,  are  but  short ;  and  we  shall 
shortly  ourselves  go  the  same  way.  How  diminutively  does 
the  apostle  speak  of  the  afflictions  of  this  present  time.  "  Our 
light  afflictions,  which  are  but  for  a  moment."  2  Cor.  4  :  17. 
You  call  them  heavy,  he  calls  them  light ;  and  those  light 
afflictions  but  for  a  moment ;  and  that  moment  of  light  afflic- 
tions worketh  for  us.  You  are  apt  to  think  they  all  work 
against  you,  but  they  work /or  you  "a  far  more  exceeding 
and  eternal  weight  of  glory."  The  contrast  lies  between 
affiiction  and  glory ;.  light  affliction,  and  the  iveight  of 
glory;  a  light  affliction  for  a  moment,  and  weight  of  glory 
eternal:  spoken  as  much  like  an  orator,  as  like  an  apostle. 
And  who  was  it  that  said  all  this  ?  One  that  knew  as  well 
what  affliction  was — one  that  had  as  much  of  it  to  his  share, 
as  any  man  in  the  world.  "In  labors  more  abundant,  in 
stripes  above  measure,  in  prisons  more  frequent,  in  deaths 
oft  Of  the  Jews  five  times  received  I  forty  stripes  save 
one;  thrice  was  I  beaten  with  rods,  once  was  I  stoned, 
thrice  I  suffered  shipwreck,  a  night  and  a  day  I  have  been 
in  the  deep ;  in  journeyings  often,  in  perils  of  waters,  in 
perils  of  robbers,  in  perils  by  mine  own  countrymen,  in  perils 
by  the  heathen,  in  perils  in  the  city,  in  perils  in  the  wilder- 
ness, in  perils  in  the  sea,  in  perils  among  false  brethren ;  in 
weariness  and  painfulness,  in  watchings  often,  in  hunger  and 
thirst,  in  fastings  often,  in  cold  and  nakedness ;  besides  the 
care  of  all  the  churches,"  2  Cor.  11  :  23-28 :  and  yet,  light 
afflictions  ! 

"  The  time  is  short.     It  remaineth  that  they  that  weep, 


326  '      THE   MUUENER. 

be  as  though  they  wept  not."  1  Cor.  7,  29,  30.  "  The  end  of 
all  things  is  at  hand."  I  shall  shortly  know  myself  what  it 
is  to  change  worlds.  It  is  more  to  the  purpose  to  prepare 
for  my  own  death,  than  fruitlessly  to  lament  that  of  another. 
And  to  make  sure  of  meeting  my  godly  friends,  is  more  now 
my  business,  than  to  lose  time  in  bewailing  their  parting. 
"  Establish  your  hearts,  for  the  coming  of  the  Lord  draweth 
nigh."     James  5:8.   —        ?" 

It  will  -be  a  double  loss  to  lose  the  dear  relations,  and  to 
lose  the  benefit  of  the  affliction  too ;  it  is  enough  to  have 
lost  them.  Shall  I  lose  the  spiritual  advantage  that  might 
be  gained  by  such  a  trials  and  into  which  it  might  be  im- 
proved? 

Patient  submission  gives  the  surest  possession  of  our- 
selves, and  the  best  enjoyment  of  every  thing  else.  "In 
your  patience  possess  ye  your  souls."  Luke  21 :  19.  With- 
out it,,  we  have  lost  possession  of  ourselv6s :  and  he  that  does 
not  enjoy  himself,  can  enjoy  nothing  else;  for  whatever  is 
poured  into  a  tainted  vessel  is  all  spoiled. 

It  is  a  dangerous  thing  to  provoke  God  by  obstinate  grief, 
lest  a  worse  thing  come  unto  us.  For  he  hath  said,  "With 
the  froward  I  will  show  myself  froward."  Psalm  18:26. 
"He  that  hath  a  froward  heart  findeth  no  good."  Prov. 
17  :  20.  "  Thorns  and  snares  are  in  the  way  of  the  froward. 
He  that  doth  keep  his  soul"  quiet  and  submissive,  "shall  be 
far  from  them."  Prov.  22  : 5.  And  after  this.  Do  I  well  to 
be  angry?  Would  any  one  choose  to  walk  upon  thorns  and 
briers,  that  could  pick  out  an  easier  path  ?  Where  one  tear 
falls  on  account  of  complying  with  God's  will,  a  multitude 
fall  in  consequence  of  having  our  own  will.  Not  only  the 
miseries  of  this  hfe,  but  the  eternal  miseries  of  the  life  to 
come,  are  owing  to  this  unresigned  self-will.  It  may  be 
written  on  many  a  tomb,  Here  lies  the  body  of  N.  N., 

BECAUSE  HE  WOULD  HAVE  HIS  OWN  WILL. 


HELPS  AGAINST   SORROW.  327 

SECTION    X. 

HELP  AaAINST  IMMODERATE  G-RIEF,  FROM  CONSIDERATIONS 
WITH  RESPECT  TO  OTHERS,  AND  THE  WORLD  ABOUT  US. 

Compare  your  case  with  that  of  others,  and  you  may 
easily  observe  more  miserable  and  mournful  ones.  There 
are  a  thousand  persons  with  whom  you  would  not  change 
conditions.  By  what  law  is  it,  that  you  must  only  gaze  at 
those  above  you,  and  take  no  notice  of  those  below  ?  That 
you  must  look  on  him  only  who  is  carried  on  men's  shoulders, 
and  think  it  a  fine  thing  to  be  so  mounted,  but  never  consider 
the  poor  men  that  carried  him,  whose  place  you  would  by, 
no  means  accept  of  "You  look  with  a  greedy  eye  upoii 
such  a  one's  wealth,"  says  bishop  Patrick ;  "  would  you  have 
it  with  his  cares  and  fears,  his  conscience  and  mirid ;  his 
ignorance,  and  perhaps  his  folly  and  vices ;  his  ill-taste  of 
things,  and  incapacity  of  intellectual  pleasures ;  his  uncom- 
fortable prospects?" 

Mourner.  No,  I  would  be  myself  what  I  am,  with  the 
addition  of  what  I  want. 

Answer,  Are  you  sure  of  continuing  what  you  are  with 
that  addition  ?  Since  no  one  can  have  all  things,  is  not 
yours  a  good  lot?  What  pretences  have  you,  for  every  good 
thing  to  centre  in  yourself?  Was  it  always  as  well  with  you 
as  it  is  now  ?  Formerly .  you  had  no  being  ;•  formerly  you  had 
none  of  those  relations  or  possessions  you  now  lament.  You 
have  lost  that  which  some  never  had.  Can  you  say,  you  had 
rather. never  have  had  them  than  to  lose  them?  If  it  was 
a  good  thing,  the  having  of  it  for  a  time  was  a  greater  good 
than  not  to  have  had  it  at  all. 

Compare  your  griefs  with  the  miserable  sorrows  and 
sufferings  of  others.  You  will  find  such  a  one  has  lost  her 
pretty  children;  and  at  the  same  time  a  loving  husband, 
that  was  better  to  her  than  ten  sons.     Another  has  lost  a 


328  THE  MOURNER. 

near  relation,  and  with  that  near  relation,  away  went  the 
means  of  subsistence.  The  sons  of  Zedekiah  were  slain 
before  his  face;  and  then  his  own  eyes  were  put  out,  and 
he  himself  led  into  captivity.  2  Kings,  25  :  7.  David  had 
the  mortification  of  a  beloved  son  dying  in  actual  rebellion 
against  his  father,  his  prince,  and  against  his  God.  How 
much  more  terrible  was  that,  than  to  close  his  eyes  in  a 
peaceful  way.  The  mother  of  the  Maccabees  saw  her 
seven  sons  tormented  to  death  before  her  face ;  and  she  her- 
self afterwards  underwent  the  same.  The  sufferings  of  the 
primitive  Christians,  how  grievous  I  The  patient  resignation 
of  our  English  martyrs  to  be  burnt,  how  remarkable,  how 
affecting,  how  glorious !  If  mankind  were  to  bring  together 
all  their  several  troubles  and  calamities,  in  all  their  circum- 
stances of  good  and  bad  that  attend  them,  and  lay  them  in 
one  common  heap,  on  this  condition,  that  when  they  had  so 
done,  every  man  was  to  come  again  to  take  up  an  equal  por- 
tion of  the  miseries  of  life,  and  divide  them  equally,  a  great 
many  who  now  complain  would  gladly  take  up  what  they 
brought,  and  go  away  contented. 

What  if  the  great  God  designs  that  others,  who  look  on, 
should  have  the  benefit  of  my  example  and  good  behavior 
under  such  a  trial  as  this?  Hath  he  not  a  right  to  use  me 
for  such  a  purpose  ?  And  does  it  not  become  me  to  comply 
with  it  and  behave  accordingly  ?  Job  lost  his  children,  his 
estate,  his  health,  and  in  some  measure  his  reputation  with 
his  friends,  his  ease,  and  peace ;  and  all  this  to  show  the 
world  a  pattern  of  patience.  Shall  others  have  no  benefit 
from  the  example  of  our  behavior  ?  Though  God  can  never 
want  a  cause  of  inflicting  evil  where  sin  is,  yet 'this  shows 
that  sin  is  not  always  the  cause.  "  Hast  thou  considered 
my  servant  Job,"  says  God  to  Satan,  "  that  there  is  none 
like  him  in  the  earth,  although  thou  movedst  me  against 
him  to  destroy  him  without  cause."     Job  2  ;  3. 

This  resignation  is  the  most  distinguishing  character  of 


HELPS   AaAlxNST   cJURRuW.  329 

a  Christian ;  Ihat  which  does  most  undoubtedly  distinguish 
good  men  from  bad.  Tlie  externals  of  religion  cannot  do 
it,  because  they  are  common  to  the  hypocrite  and  to  the  sin- 
cere. The  hypocrite  can  hear  and  read,  sing  psalms  and 
pray,  and  receive  sacraments,  as  the  true  Christian  does,  and 
administer  them  too,  and  preach ;  but  to  give  up  the  will  to 
the  disposal  of  God,  and  obey  his  will,  is  what  no  hypocrite 
can  do  and  continue  such.  For  it  is  the  essence  of  hypoc- 
risy to  pretend  to  let  God  have  our  will,  and  yet  resolve  to 
have  our  own  ;  and  it  is  the  evidence  of  sincerity  to  be 
thankful  if  God  will  let  us  have  our  own  will,  but  contented 
with  his  and  submissive  to  it.  All  other  parts  of  religion, 
I  say,  lie  in  common.  If  you  hear  sermons  ever  so  atten- 
tively, the  hypocrite  will  sit  as  demurely  :  "  They  sit  before 
me  as  my  people  sit."  Herod  heard  John  gladly,  and  did 
many  things.  If  you  pray  fervently  and  frequently,  the 
hypocrite  may  be  as  frequent,  long,  and  copious.  The  Phar- 
isees, "for  a  pretence,  made  long  prayers."  You  cannot 
come  to  the  Lord's  supper  oftener,  nor  behave  with  more 
devotion  than  they  do.  Judas  sat  down  with  the  twelve. 
If  you  entertain  good  discourse  with  great  readiness  in 
scripture .  language,  the  hypocrite  can  do  the  same.  Men 
may  preach  to  others,  and  be  cast  away  themselves — may 
be  companions  to  good  men,  as  Demas  was  to  Paul,  and  yet 
be  lovers  of  this  present  world,  so  as  to  forsake  the  disciples 
for  it ;  men  may  be  any  thing,  and  do  any  thing  short  of  this 
resigned  will  to  God,  and  yet  be  no  Christians.  But  the 
surrender  of  our  will  to  God  is  a  sacrifice  of  that  sort  which 
demonstrates  him  that  makes  it  to  be  a  Christian  indeed. 

The  children  of  wrath  are  described  from  their  not 
having  resigned  their  will  to  God  :  "  Fulfilling  the  desires 
of  the  flesh  and  of  the  mind,"  Eph.  2  :  3,  that  is,  their 
own  wills,  and  not  God's— their  own  wills  in  opposition  to 
God's.  And  "  they  have  altogether  broken  the  yoke  and 
burst  the  bonds."     Jer.  5:5.     "  Let  us  break  their  bands 


330  THE  MOURNER. 

asunder,  and  cast  away  their  cords  from  us."  Psa.  2:3. 
The  children  of  God,  on  the  contrary,  are  described,  from  the 
entire  surrender  of  their  will  to  God,  '*  as  obedient  children, 
not  fashioning  yourselves  according  to  your  former  lusts," 
not  acting  merely  according  to  your  own  will,  "  but  as  he 
who  hath  called  you  is  holy,  so  be  ye  holy  in  all  manner  of 
conversation."  David  was  a  man  "  after  God's  own  heart, 
and  served  his  generation  according  to  the  will  of  God ;" 
while  others  are  described  as  walking  after  their  own  imagi- 
nation.    Jer.  23  :  17. 

The  devil  will  let  you  have  as  much  religion  as  you 
please  without  this,  because  he  knows  all  religion  that 
leaves  the  will  of  man  unresigned  to  God,  will  never  rescue 
the  soul  out  of  his  hands. 

Immoderate  passion,  for  losing  or  gaining  any  thing  in 
this  world,  is  a  reproach  to  religion,  to  good  principles,  and 
to  the  best  prospects  in  the  world;  as  if  these  were  not 
sufficient  to  bear  us  up  and  to  bear  us  out,  or  to  make  ample 
amends  for  the  loss  of  any  comfort ;  as  if  God  with  all  his 
perfections,  and  heaven  with  all  its  glories,  were  nothing, 
no,  nothing  to  that  child,  that  husband,  that  wife,  that 
estate.  I  have  seen  a  grief  so  stubborn  as  to  prove  insensi- 
ble to  all  the  principles  and  prospects  that  could  be  men- 
tioned. 

In  such  cases  we  fall  short  of  many  excellent  heathen. 
We  are  outdone  by  those  with  whom  we  are  ashamed  to  be 
compared,  considering  all  things.  Some  of  them  had  noble 
sentiments  under  the  loss  of  estates,  relations,  or  friends. 
Zeno  lost  all  in  a  shipwreck  ;  he  protested  it  was  the  best 
voyage  he  ever  made  in  his  life,  because  it  proved  the  occa- 
sion of  betaking  himself  to  the  study  of  virtue  and  philos- 
ophy. Seneca  says,  he  enjoyed  his  relations  as  one  that 
was  to  lose  them ;  and  lost  them  as  one  who  had  them  still 
in  possession.  A  Spartan  woman  had  five  sons  in  the  army 
on  the  day  of  battle.     "When  a  soldier  came  running  from 


DIRECTIONS.  331 

the  camp  to  the  city  to  bring  tidings,  she,  waiting  at  the 
gate  to  hear  his  report,  asked,  "  "What  news  ?"  Says  the 
messenger,  "  Thy  five  sons  are  slain."  "  You  fool,"  says 
she,  "  I  did  not  ask  after  them.  How  goes  it  in  the  field  of 
battle  ?"  "  Why,"  says  the  messenger,  "  we  have  gained 
the  victory  ;  Sparta  is  safe."  *'  Then  let  us  be  thankful," 
says  she,  "  to  the  gods,  for  our  deliverance  and  continued 
freedom  !"  Seneca  speaks  to  God  in  such  language  as  this  : 
"  I  only  want  to  know  your  will ;  as  soon  as  I  know  what 
that  is,  I  am  always  of  the  same  mind.  I  do  not  say  you 
have  taken  from  me ;  that  looks  as  if  I  were  unwilling ;  but 
that  you  have  accepted  from  me  what  I  am  ready  to  offer." 


SECTION  XI. 


DIRECTIONS  TO  MOURNERS. 


Lay  the  foundation  of  your  consolation  right,  namely,  in 
true  conversion,  a  state  of  grace,  the  pardon  of  sin,  and  the 
favor  of  God.  Lay  the  foundation  of  it  within  you,  and  not 
on  things  without ;  above,  and  not  on  things  below  ;  on 
Christ,  and  not  on  yourselves ;  in  the  principles  and  pros- 
pects of  religion,  and  not  on  the  things  of  this  world  ;  in  the 
rectification  of  your  opinions,  in  the  government  of  your 
appetites  and  passions,  and  in  possessing  your  souls  in 
patience  :  without  this,  you  have  something  else  to  cry  for 
than  a  lost  friend.  You  have  a  lost  soul  to  bewail,  of 
infinitely  more  concern  to  you  than  any  thing  or  any  person 
in  the  world. 

If  my  comfort  depend  only  on  things  without  me,  it  lies 
at  the  mercy  of  so  many  accidents  that  it  must  needs  be 
very  precarious.  But  if  I  can  say,  "  I  am  at  peace  with 
God ;  I  have  a  conscience  void  of  offence  towards  God  and 
man  ;  I  have  a  good  hope  through  grace,  as  to   another 


332  THE   MOURNEil. 

world,  and  my  heart  does  not  condemn  me,"  the  accidents 
of  life  cannot  utterly  ruin  the  peace  of  such  a  soul.  This  is 
that  peace  of  which  Christ  says,  "  Peace  I  leave  with  you  ; 
my  peace  I  give  unto  you  :  not  as  the  world  giveth,  give  I 
unto  you.  Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled,  neither  let  it  be 
afraid." 

The  man  who  lays  the  foundation  of  his  peace  and  quiet 
in  estate,  relations,  health,  pleasures  of  life,  or  life  itself, 
when  any  of  these  is  in  danger,  his  peace  is  shaken  or 
destroyed ;  whereas  the  man  is  immovable  who  can  think 
and  say  thus  : 

"  I  am  sick,  but  not  afraid  to  die  :  it  is  he  who  is  sick 
and  fears  to  die,  whose  peace  is  destroyed  by  sickness.  I 
am  in  pain  it  is  true,  but  I  have  patience  to  possess  my 
soul ;  it  is  he  who  is  in  pain  and  has  no  patience,  whose 
comfort  is  destroyed.  I  am  slighted  and  disregarded,  per- 
haps for  want  of  merit ;  if  I  am  conscious  of  my  deserving 
better,  let  that  be  my  consolation,  without  estimating  my 
comfort  and  peace  by  the  opinion  of  others.  I  am  lessened 
in  estate,  and  reduced  to  narrow  circumstances  ;  true,  but  I 
am  not  covetous  :  had  I  been  covetous  of  much,  all  my  com- 
fort and  peace  would  have  gone  with  my  substance.  But  I 
plainly  see  the  comfort  of  life  does  not  lie  so  much  in  the 
abundance  of  these  things,  as  in  the  art  of  enjoying  a  little. 
I  have  lost  indeed  a  dear  friend,  and  a  lovely  creature  ;  but 
my  happiness  was  more  wrapt  up  in  that  God  to  whom  my 
beloved  Iriends  are  gone  :  and  God  will  bring  them  along 
with  him.  That  which  beautified  their  character  and  made 
them  so  lovely  was  what  could  not  be  lost,  but  is  perfected 
by  the  translation.  I  love  them  still,  and  take  a  pleasure  in 
loving  them,  which  relieves  the  sorrow  for  their  absence. 
The  man  who  does  not  fear  death  so  much  as  an  ill  life 
who  thinks  impatience  a  worse  disease  than  gout  or  stone 
who  thinks  pride  a  greater  reproach  than  being  slighted 
covetousness  a  viler  thing  than  poverty ;  and  that  to  offend 


DIRECTIONS.  333 

God  with  immoderate  grief  is  worse  than  any  loss  whatso- 
ever, that  man's  comfort  and  peace  is  not  precarious ;  does 
not  lie  at  the  mercy  of  other  men's  fancies  and  passions,  and 
is  above  the  reach  of  accidents." 

He  knows  not  the  world  nor  himself,  who  depends  upon 
a  life  such  as  ours  ;  who  is  distracted  at  a  painful  accident, 
as  if  he  was  privileged  from  the  common  lot,  and  some 
strange  thing  had  happened  to  him.  Did  you  never  before 
imagine  that  the  person  you  are  now  lamenting  was  mortal 
as  well  as  yourself;  that  what  was  born  must  die ;  that 
what  has  befallen  others  might  happen  to  you  ;  that  what 
owes  its  value  only  to  fancy,  has  only  a  fanciful  worth? 
And  what  can  be  bought  with  money  here  on  earth,  is  not 
more  excellent  nor  less  perishing. 

There  is  indeed  a  knowledge  of  the  world  that  polishes 
the  gentleman,  to  be  learned  in  courts  and  camps  and  in 
a  general  conversation ;  but  the  knowledge  that  secures  a 
man's  peace  and  quiet  through  all  events,  is  to  be  found  only 
in  the  Bible.  That  book  will  tell  us  that  this  world  is  not 
our  resting-place,  for  it  is  polluted ;  that  it  must  not  and 
cannot  be  our  portion ;  that  it  is  not  an  equal  price  for  our 
souls,  though  we  could  gain  the  whole  of  it ;  that  the  world 
lies  in  wickedness,  an  enemy  to  Christ  and  his  interest ;  that 
it  is  one  of  our  enemies  we  must  overcome  by  faith  ;  that  it 
is  of  a  perishing  nature,  and  in  continual  change  and  vari- 
ation. 

-To  consider  this  world  as  philosophers,  it  is  a  fine  build- 
ing ;  every  thing  is  adjusted  in  number,  weight,  and  measure. 
We  admire  "  the  heavens,  the  work  of  thy  fingers  ;  the  moon 
and  the  stars,  which  thou  hast  ordained."  But  why  does 
the  astronomer  stop  short  at  the  visible  heavens  ?  Why  not 
penetrate  further,  to  that  glory  which  God  hath  set  above 
those  heavens  ?  "  Faith  is  the  evidence  of  things  not  seen  " 
by  the  telescope.  There  is  the  Christian's  home  and  coun- 
try.    Here  we  are  strangers  and  pilgrims,  passing  through  a 


334  THE  MOURNER. 

foreign  land.  In  short,  he  knows  the  world  best  who  comes 
up  to  that  text,  "  Love  not  the  world,  nor  the  things  of  the 
world;"  and  concludes,  with  the  great  Mornseus,  that  "if 
all  the  world  was  made  for  man,  man  was  made  for  some- 
thing more  than  all  the  world."  Let  us  balance  the 
thoughts  of  what  we  have  lost  with  the  remembrance  of 
what  we  were  made  for. 

What  do  we  see  in  ourselves  that  we  should  expect 
always  to  be  pleased  ?  We  are  not  better  than  our  fathers. 
If  I  am  dead  to  this  world,  why  am  I  so  distracted  that 
another  is  dead  out  of  it  ?  If  I  am  not  dead  to  this  world, 
I  ought  to  be  so,  and  to  be  more  concerned  for  my  own  soul 
than  for  any  departed  friend.  Learn  to  think  and  speak  of 
this  world  now,  as  you  will  do  when  you  are  going  out  of  it. 
Acknowledge  it  to  be  a  place  where  you  must  daily  lose 
something  till  you  have  lost  all.  And  let  your  soul  assur- 
edly conceive,  that  having  had  its  original  from  heaven,  it 
is  one  of  those  things  which  must  one  day  return  thither. 
Bishop  Patrick. 

While  your  sorrows  are  afloat,  turn  them  into  a  godly 
channel.  It  will  be  more  easy  at  such  a  time  to  employ 
them  in  mourning  for  sin.  This  is  fetching  "  meat  out  of 
the  eater,"  and  comfort  out  of  trouble.  This  is  making  sor- 
row, otherwise  fruitless  and  hurtful,  to  be  of  use  and  service. 
So  the  skilful  husbandman  directs  the  stream  to  his  mill, 
and  makes  it  work,  instead  of  running  to  WELste  or  doing 
mischief  Perhaps  this  is  one  intention  of  the  providence. 
At  least,  it  will  be  a  wise  and  happy  improvement  of  it. 
"  Since  I  am  now  so  ready  to  burst  into  tears,  I  will  weep 
part  of  them  over  a  sinful  life."  This  will  make  it  a  heal- 
ing wound  and  a  comforting  sorrow,  and  at  the  same  time 
give  vent  to  nature  and  exercise  to  grace. 

This  is  often  best  done  upon  our  knees  in  prayer  :  a  time 
of  affliction  is  a  time  of  prayer.  "  Is  any  afflicted  ?  let  him 
pray."     "  Call  upon  me  in  the  day  of  trouble,  and  I  will 


DIRECTIONS.  335 

deliver  thee  "  "  Be  careful  for  nothing"  overmuch  ;  "  but 
in  every  thing  by  prayer  and  supplication  with  thanksgiv- 
ing, let  your  requests  be  made  known  unto  God."  Phil.  4  :  6. 
For  "  he  will  regard  the  prayer  of  the  destitute,  and  not 
despise  their  prayer."  Psa.  102  :  17.  Thus  God  invites 
you  to  come  and  drop  some  of  your  tears  at  his  feet ;  it  is 
likely  he  may  turn,  your  sorrows  into  joy.  It  will  compose 
the    spirit,   calm    the    passions,    spiritualize  the   affections, 

■.^  strengthen  faith,  hope,  and  love ;  for  under  the  influence  of 

*the  other  world,  we  always  less  regard  this. 

0  Holy  Spirit,  is  it  not  thy  name  and  office  to  be  the 
Comforter  ?  Does  not  my  case  need  comfort  ?  Art  not 
thou  as  willing  and  ready  to  help  as  I  am  desirous  of  it  ? 
Come,  Holy  Ghost,  and  do  thine  office  of  consolation  to  a 
poor  soul  that  needs  it.  Lord,  increase  my  faith  ;  and  in  the 
same  proportion  my  sorrows  will  abate,  and  my  consolation 
will  abound.  Hope  and  faith  are  the  only  supports  under 
things  that  have  no  cure  in  this  world.  It  is  in  believing  that 
we  have  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory.  It  is  in  believing 
that  our  hearts  are  fortified  against  the  troubles  and  pangs 
that  others  feel.  So  Christ  has  connected  them  together : 
"  Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled  ;  ye  believe  in  God,  be- 
lieve also  in  me."  Lord,  I  believe  ;  help  thou  my  unbelief 
I  believe  in  God  and  the  great  truths  of  natural  religion ;  I 
believe  also  in  thee,  and  the  peculiar  discoveries  of  the  gos- 
pel ;  I  believe  thy  providence  manages  all  things  according 
to  the  purpose  of  thine  own  will  and  wisdom ;  I  believe  thy 
promises  shall  be  fulfilled,  which  are  a  great  support  to  my 
mind  ;  I  believe  thy  watchful  care  and  never-failing  love  to 
thine  own  ;  I  believe  the  reality  and  excellency  of  the  future 
world,  and  have  good  hope,  through  grace,  of  my  title  to  it. 
And  how  little,  how  very  little,  do  all  these  lower  things 
appear,  when  that  world  is  in  full  view.  The  just,  who 
live  by  faith  and  die  in  faith,  may  rejoice  in  faith  in  the 
midst  of  their  sorrows.     The  joys  of  faith  are  the  best  rem- 


336  THE   MOURNER. 

edy  against  the  grief  of  sense.  "  I  had  fainted,  unless  I  had 
believed  to  see  the  goodness  of  God  in  the  land  of  the  living." 
It  was  faith,  the  evidence  of  things  not  seen  and  the  sub- 
stance of  things  hoped  for,  to  which  those  heroes  of  faith  and 
patience  owe  their  glorious  character,  Hebrews  11 — "Who 
are  kept  by  the  power  of  God  through  faith  unto  salvation. 
"Wherein  ye  greatly  rejoice,  though  now  for  a  season,  if  need 
be,  ye  are  in  heaviness  through  manifold  temptations  ;  that 
the  trial  of  your  faith,  being  much  more  precious  than  of 
gold  that  perisheth,  though  it  be  tried  with  fire,  might  be 
found  unto  praise  and  honor  and  glory,  at  the  appearing  of 
Jesus  Christ ;  whom,  having  not  seen,  ye  love  :  in  whom, 
though  now  ye  see  him  not,  yet  believing,  ye  rejoice  with 
joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory."  1  Pet.  1  :  5-8.  Grief 
says,  "  The  dear  creature  is  gone."  Faith  says,  "  Gone 
before,  not  lost ;  and  the  meeting  again  is  certain,  and  will 
be  full  of  comfort :  it  will  begin  in  a  little  time,  and  con- 
tinue for  ever." 

It  is  of  great  use  to  consider  the  examples  of  patience 
under  afflictions,  that  are  to  be  met  with  in  sacred  and  com- 
mon history.  "  Take,  my  brethren,  the  prophets  who  have 
spoken  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  for  an  example  of  suffering 
affliction,  and  of  patience."  James  5  :  10.  And  the  first  he 
mentions  is  Job :  "Ye  have  heard  of  the  patience  of  Job." 
One  part  of  his  estate  was  plundered  by  the  inroads  of  his 
enemies  ;  another  part  was  burnt  up  with  lightning  from 
heaven  ;  his  children  were  cut  off  at  once  by  a  violent  tem- 
pest, seven  sons  and  three  daughters ;  his  own  health  was 
turned  into  sickness  and  corruption  ;  from  the  crown  of  the 
head  to  the  sole  of  the  foot  were  boils  and  sores.  He  takes 
a  bit  of  broken  potsherd  to  scrape  himself  withal,  his  fingers 
being  too  sore  for  that  poor  office.  He  sat  down  among  the 
ashes  ;  nor  could  he  there  be  quiet :  he  is  insulted  by  one  of 
the  foolish  women,  and  teased  with  uncharitable  censures 
and  false  reasoning  of  friends,  who  endeavored  to  wrangle 


DIRECTIONS.  337 

nim  out  of  ail  that  remained  of  comfort  to  him,  namely,  the 
inward  consciousness  of  his  own  integrity.  How  great  were 
his  trials ;  how  glorious  his  patience ! 

When  Aaron  lost  his  two  sons,  it  is  said,  "Aaron  held 
his  peace."  When  Eli  heard  the  prediction  of  the  death  and 
ruin  of  his  family,  he  answered,  "It  is  the  Lord;  let  him  do 
what  seemeth  good  unto  him."  And  David  says,  "I  was 
dumb  ;  I  opened  not  my  mouth,  because  thou  didst  it." 
Abraham's  offering  his  son  with  such  resolution  was  a  great 
thing,  and  God  estimated  it  according  to  his  intention. 
The  story  of  the  mother  of  the  Maccabees,  who  sacrificed  her 
seven  sons,  and  stood  by  the  execution,  that  she  might  help 
them  through  their  martyrdom  by  her  counsel  and  comfort, 
has  something  in  it  uncommonly  heroic ;  she  also  following 
them  herself  in  the  same  glorious  path. 

Among  the  primitive  Christians,  there  are  many  such 
instances  of  suffering  and  patience,  a  contempt  of  this  world, 
and  an  eagerness  after  another,  that  may  well  make  us 
ashamed  for  our  feebleness  under  lesser  trials,  with  much 
greater  advantages. 

But  above  all,  let  us  keep  in  our  eye  the  pattern  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ :  "  Consider  him  that  endured  such  con- 
tradiction of  sinners  against  himself,  lest  ye  be  wearied  and 
faint  in  your  minds."  Heb.  12:3.  "Looking  unto  Jesus, 
the  author  and  finisher  of  our  faith;"  the  fountain  of  all  our 
supplies,  and  the  pattern  of  our  behavior. 

It  is  great  wisdom  not  to  have  these  principles  to  lay  in 
when  they  are  to  be  employed;  nor  these  supports  to  get 
when  they  should  be  used.  It  is  no  wonder  people  are  at  a 
loss  in  a  time  of  affliction,  when  they  are  strangers  to  those 
things  wherein  the  best  consolation  doth  consist.  There  are 
no  such  cordials  as  the  Christian  religion  affords;  but  they 
are  nothing,  if,  like  cordials,  they  are  only  used  when  a  faint- 
ing-fit comes.  They  must  be  daily  made  our  food,  estab- 
lished principles,  and  settled  habits ;  practised  into  a  second 

Affl.  Man's  Companion.  lO 


338  THE  MOURNER. 

nature ;  or  else  we  shall  be  like  soldiers  unexercised  before 
the  attack,  or  travellers  unprovided  at  the  moment  of  the 
journey.  People,  in  other  cases,  do  not  pretend  to  perform 
what  they  have  not  learned  to  do;  to  play  upon  an  instru- 
ment they  have  never  practised ;  to  perform  an  exercise  they 
never  made  themselves  masters  of;  but  Christianity  they 
think  may  be  acted  extempore,  and  upon  a  sudden,  without 
learning  it.  But  we  see  that  will  not  do,  where  no  habit  of 
submission  is  acquired  beforehand.  Where  the  mind  is  not 
prepared  by  the  frequent  actings  of  resignation,  men  have 
yet  to  learn  how  to  use  and  how  to  apply  the  principles  of 
peace  and  comfort,  if  they  possess  them;  and  much  more 
still  are  they  at  a  loss,  if  those  principles  are  to  be  got  at 
the  very  time  they  are  to  be  used.  They  are  not  then  capa- 
ble of  the  consolation  arising  from  principles  and  prospects 
they  are  utter  strangers  to.  They  wonder  what  you  mean. 
They  call  for  the  dear  creature  that  is  gone ;  they  grieve  and 
grieve  on;  they  tease  themselves;  they  offend  God;  they 
have  no  comfort  under  present  calamity ;  they  draw  more 
calamity  upon  themselves  by  the  excess  or  continuance  of 
their  sorrow ;  and  all  for  want  of  preparing  a  good  founda- 
tion against  such  a  time  to  come. 


SECTION   XII. 

THE   CLOSE. 

"  I  WOULD  not  have  you  to  be  ignorant,  brethren,  concern- 
ing them  which  are  asleep;  that  ye  sorrow  not  even  as 
others  which  have  no  hope.  For  if  we  believe  that  Jesus 
died  and  rose  again,  even  so  them  also  which  sleep  in  Jesus, 
will  God  bring  with  him.  The  dead  in  Christ  shall  rise 
first."  1  Thess.  4:13,  14.  Let  them  that  have  no  hope, 
have  no  bounds  to  their  sorrow,  and  be  as  heathenish  in  the 
manner  of  it  as  they  are  in  its  cause  and  rise,  namely,  the 


CONCLUSION.  339 

want  of  hope.  "The  righteous  hath  hope  in  his  death;" 
therefore  we  will  not  despair  in  our  sorrows.  Other  people, 
how  many  soever  in  number  or  great  in  figure,  are  not  to  be 
followed  in  any  excess.  A  Christian  neither  lives  or  dies, 
rejoices  or  sorrows,  as  others  do ;  according  to  his  own  char- 
acter, he  "sorrows  not  as  do  others." 

The  caution  against  immoderate  sorrow  is  grounded  upon 
the  present  condition  of  the  godly  dead:  "They  sleep  in 
Jesus."  And  upon  the  future  meeting  we  shall  have,  "  God 
will  bring  them  with  him."  And  the  certainty  of  these 
things;  as  certain  as  that  "Jesus  died  and  rose  again."  If 
we  believe  one,  we  must  believe  the  other.  For  if  you 
believe  that  Jesus  died  and  rose  again— as  surely  you  do— 
you  must  also  beheve  that  them  who  sleep  in  Jesus  will 
God  bring  with  him.  And  then  we  shall  all  be  together 
again. 

How  soft  a  name  is  given  to  the  Christian's  death;  and 
how  lovely  a  notion  of  their  present  state:  "They  sleep  in 
Jesus." 

"  They  sleep."  Why  do  you  mpurn  as  if  they  were  ex- 
tinct; as  if  they  were  annihilated  and  utterly  lost? 

Mourner.  But  they  are  lost  to  me. 

Answer.  Not  for  ever;  not  for  a  very  long  time:  "Yet 
a  little  while,  and  he  that  shall  come  will  come,  and  will 
not  tarry."  When  they  were  alive,  sleep  and  absence  sepa- 
rated you  for  a  great  part  of  the  time. 

Mourner.  But  I  knew  then  they  would  awake  from 
sleep,  and  return  from  absence ;  but  now 

Answer.  And  do  not  you  now  believe  that  they  will 
awake  from  sleep,  and  return  from  absence?  But  when 
you  say  you  knew  that  they  would  awake  from  sleep,  and 
return  from  absence,  you  speak  in  terms  too  strong.  You 
might  hope,  indeed,  and  expect  that  they  would  awake  and 
return;  but  that  they  would  certainly  do  so,  is  more  than 
any  one  could  insure,  who  knows  not  what  a  day  may  bring 


340  THE   MOURNER. 

forth.  But  this  we  certainly  know,  that  them  who  sleep  in 
Jesus  will  God  bring  with  him,  as  surely  as  we  believe  that 
Jesus  died  and  rose  again  from  the  dead. 

Mourner.  But  it  will  be  a  great  while  first. 

Answer.  What  if  it  be  ?  Is  it  not  worth  tarrying  for  ? 
And  it  may  not  be  so  long  neither  as  you  imagine. 

Mourner.  But  what  must  I  do  in  the  mean  time  ? 

Answer.  Do  but  these  two  or  three  things,  and  all  shall 
be  well.  See  that  your  own  soul  is  safe ;  secure  your  happy 
meeting,  that  your  separation  may  not  be  eternal ;  give  due 
allowance  to  the  passion  of  nature,  and  refuse  not  the  help 
of  grace.  Time  will  do  something;  reflection  more;  and 
religion  will  complete  the  work  of  resignation. 

They  that  are  asleep  in  Jesus,  are  as  truly  alive  as  you, 
and  in  a  thousand  times  more  excellent  sense,  and  to  more 
excellent  purposes ;  for  he  who  died  for  us,  did  it  for  this  end, 
that  "whether  we  wake  or  sleep,  we  should  live  together 
with  him."  1  Thess.  5:10.  For  "God  is  not  the  God 
of  the  dead,  but  of  the  living,"  Luke  20  :  38 — living,  at 
present,  as  to  the  soul ;  and  to  live  hereafter  in  the  body 
again. 

"  We  live  together  with  him,  whether  we  wake  or  sleep." 
They  who  sleep  in  Jesus,  live  together  with  him  in  his  pres- 
ence and  enjoyment.  In  this  respect  it  is  that  Christ  says, 
"  He  that  believes  in  me,  shall  never  die  "* — never  die 
totally.  But  when  the  body  sleeps  in  Jesus,  the  soul  lives 
"together  with  him,"  and  proceeds  in  a  life  that  death  can- 
not discontinue,  nor  eternity  exhaust. 

Sleep  is  a  rest  from  weariness,  from  the  cares  and  labors 
of  the  day.     Such  is  the  death  of  the  Christian. 

"  Blessed  are  the  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord ;  they  rest  from 
their  labors:"  from  the  labors  of  their  calhng,  as  men;  from 
the  labors  of  their  duty  as  Christians,  because  all  the  duty 

*  According  to  the  letter  of  the  translation ;  though  it  may  be  ren- 
dered, "  He  that  believes  in  me,  shall  not  die  for  ever." 


CONCLUSION.  341 

that  follows  in  the  separate  state,  will  be  without  labor  and 
weariness;  from  the  labor  of  opposing  sin,  and  temptations 
to  it ;  from  all  the  troubles  of  life,  and  the  sorrows  attending 
it.  It  is  not  merely  farewell  husband,  wife,  and  children ; 
but  farewell  sorrow  and  sin ;  farewell  suffering ;  farewell 
corruption,  weakness,  temptation:  welcome  rest  from  all 
these  troubles. 

Sleep  is  a  refreshment,  and  a  reparation  of  spirits ;  and 
to  the  better  part  death  gives  a  refreshment  that  amounts  to 
a  satisfaction,  "  I  shall  be  satisfied,  when  I  awake  with 
thy  likeness."  Psalm  17  :  15.  Which  some  have  under- 
stood of  the  soul's  awakening  to  a  nobler  life,  upon  the  body's 
falling  asleep. 

Sleep  is  but  for  a  while,  and  then  we  wake  again  ;  and 
death  is  but  for  a  while,  and  we  awake  in  the  morning  of 
the  resurrection.  What  David  says  of  his  lying  down  in  his 
bed  and  rising,  we  may  say  of  our  lying  down  in  the  grave 
and  rising  :  "I  laid  me  down  and  slept;  for  the  Lord  sus- 
tained me."  So  man  lieth  down  and  awaketh  not,  as  to  the 
body,  till  the  heavens  be  no  more.  "If  a  man  die,"  says 
Job,  "shall  he  live  again?"  Shall  he  indeed?  If  so,  I 
acknowledge  there  is  consolation  in  the  thought,  and  wonder 
in  the  work,  to  support  and  stay  my  mind  ;  and  therefore  all 
the  days  of  my  appointed  time,  that  I  have  to  lie  in  the 
grave,  there  will  I  wait  till  my  change,  by  the  resurrection, 
come.  For  thou  shalt  call,  by  the  sound  of  the  last  trumpet 
and  voice  of  the  Lord,  and  I  will  answer.  Thou  wilt  have 
a  desire  to  the  work  of  thine  own  hands,  to  restore  and  im- 
prove it,  and  not  suffer  it  always  to  lie  there  in  rubbish.  Job 
14  :  14,  15.  Sleep  is  but  a  short  death,  and  death  a  longer 
sleep  to  the  body.  "  The  hour  is  coming,  when  all  that  are 
in  their  graves  shall  hear  his  voice,  and  shall  come  forth ; 
they  that  have  done  good,  unto  the  resurrection  of  life." 
John  5  :  28,  29.  May  they  sleep  sweetly,  may  they  wake 
joyfully.     They   were   Christ's   friends   as   well   as  yours. 

15^ 


342  THE   MOURNER. 

Allow  him  to  have  his  friends  about  him,  even  as  you  have 
had  them  so  long.  It  may  be,  before  Christ  has  had  them 
so  long  vdth  him  as  some,of  youJ>-hafve  had  them  here  below, 
you  will  be -with  thenl  agftin-;  ajid  Christ  and  you  and  they 
be  all  together. 

*'  I  would  not  have  you  ignorant,  brethren."  Immoder- 
ate sorrow  is  very  much  owing  to  ignorance,  or  a  knowledge 
that  has  no  effect  to  govern  the  passions,  which  is  the  same 
thing  with  ignorance,  except  that  it  entitles  to  the  greater 
number  of  stripes.  Do  not  behave  as  if  you  were  ignorant 
of  the  frail  nature  and  short  duration  of  the  comforts  of  this 
life  ;  as  if  you  were  ignorant  of  the  Christian  hope,  life,  and 
immortality  ;  as  if  you  were  ignorant  of  the  present  state  of 
them  that  sleep  in  Jesus,  how  happy  it  is,  and  of  the  certain 
future  meeting  again  with  advantage  to  all  those  excellen- 
ces, for  which  you  loved  them  here  so  well.  Prayer  will 
give  a  vent  to  a  grea,t  deal  of  that  sorrow  that .  torments 
others  ;  and  hope  will  fetch  in  a  great  deal  of  comfort  which 
a  stranger  intermeddles  not  with.  They  are  therefore  men- 
tioned together  by  the  apostle  :  "  Rejoicing  in  hope  ;  patient 
in  tribulation :  continuing  instant  in  prayer."  Rom.  12:12, 
"  He  is  a  miserable  man  indeed,  who  is  afflicted  and  cannot 
pray ;''  and  whose  days  are  "  spent  without  hope."  Job 
7:6.  Where  there  is  no  hope,  there  is  no  comfort ;  where 
there  are  no  grounds  of  hope,  there  are  no  grounds  of  com- 
fort. And  when  the  prospects' of  hope  are  neglected,  and  we 
act  as  if  we  were  ignorant  of  them  or  knew  not  how  to  use 
them,  the  grievousness  of  our  sorrow  is  very  much  owing  to 
ourselves,  and  is  its  own  punishment,  though  not  the  only 
one  we  deserve. 

Moderate  sorrow  is  allowable  on  accountof  our  own  loss, 
even  of  those  who  do  sleep  in  Jesus.  The  apostle  does  not 
say,  he  would  not  have  them  sorrow  at  all,  but  not  "  as 
others."  He  does  not  say,  I  would  not  have  you  sorrow  at 
all,  but  not  as  those  who  have  no  such  hopes  as  you  have. 


CONCLUSION.  343 

It  is  the  regulation  of  sorrow  that  he  aims  at,  and  not  the 
total  suppression  of  it.  Grace  doth  not  destroy  nature,  but 
refines  it ;  it  doth  not  extinguish  the  affections  and  passions, 
but  rectifies  and  moderates  them.  To  be  altogether  uncon- 
cerned, is  unnatural ;  to  be  so  overmuch,  is  unchristian :  even 
as  both  extremes  are  hurtful  to  any  soil — either  to  have  no 
w^ater  at  all,  or  to  have  it  overflow  and  drown  the  land 
round  about. 


'^V      OP  THS*^. 

[uiriVBRsiTrl 


IR : 


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CHRISTIAN  MEMOIRS. 


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Hzurriet  L.  Winslow,  Missionary  in  In- 
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The  Colporteur  and  Roman  Catholac. 


Mason  on  Self-Knowledge. 

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lence. 
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Clarke's  Scripture  Promises. 

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BOOKS  FOR  THE  YOUNG. 

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Line  upon  Line. 

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Anzonetta  R.  Peters. 

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Legh  Richmond's  Letters  and  Counsels. 

Advice  to  a  Yotmg  Christian. 

Madam  Rumpff  and  Duchess  de  Broglie. 

Charles  H.  Porter. 

Missionary's  Daughter. 

Scudder's  Tales  about  the  Heathen. 

AmeUa,  the  Pastor's  Daughter. 

Trees,  Fruits,  and  'Flowers  of  the  Bible, 
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Nathan  W.  Dickerman. 

Grace  Harriet. 


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Narratives  of  Pious  Children. 

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Charles  L.  Winslow. 

Withered  Branch  Revived. 

Peet's  Scripture  Lessons. 

Child's  Book  of  Bible  Stories. 

Children  of  the  Bible. 

Amos  Armfield,  or  the  Leather-covered 

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Miss  Caulkins. 
Scripture  Animals,  [16  cuts.] 
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Great  Truths  in  Simple  Words. 
Clementine  Cuvier. 
Rolls  Plumbe. 
Pictorial  Tract  Primer. 
Watts'  Divine  and  Moral  Songs. 
With  numerous  similar  works. 


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In  German — 40  vols,  various  sizes. 
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In  Welsh — Pilgrim's  Progress,  Baxter's 
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